


Watchers of the Dawn

by Lash18



Series: Watchers [1]
Category: Action - Fandom, Adventure - Fandom, Fantasy - Fandom
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 16:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 102,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8759908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lash18/pseuds/Lash18
Summary: One day, six friends are transported to the mysterious world of Acadia where they will encounter new friends, allies and enemies as they transform from ordinary people to powerful warriors as they adapt to the world of Acadia!





	1. Out of the Blue

The afternoon sun shone down on the small city of Palmerston North the cars drove down the roads and people walked down the concrete pathways as three people walked towards the park in the center of the town which known as the city square where a tall clocktower stood tall in the middle of the square, Lash, Nevau and Zade walked along the large patch of grass of the square and headed towards the city library to meet up with Lyra, Zyker and Eleana.

The three walked into the library and sat at a large table where Lyra and Zyker and Eleana were sitting, Lash was a very skinny male, he had pale skin color, he long dark blonde hair tied up in a low pony tail and had icy blue eyes he was 18 years old and had graduated school last year and was allowed a year off to try and find a job, he wore a plain black shirt that had the words smeg head writing on it, black finger-less gloves, blue jeans held up by a belt and black leather shoes. 

Nevau was an average weight, he had black hair with part of his hair covering the left side of his face, he had pale green eyes and was 19 years old and had graduated school two years ago and worked as employee at a scary maze, Nevau wore a dark red shirt with the words D.M.C, he wore a skull necklace, light grey jeans, and white sneakers, Zade like Nevau was an average weight person.

Zade had dark ginger hair, hazel eyes and was 19 years old, and wore square reading glasses due to poor vision, a dark blue mask which covered the lower half of his face, a sky blue shirt which had a circle covered by spikes forming some type of sun on the chest, black cargo jeans, and black steel cap boots.

Lyra was an average size weight with an average size, she had short blonde hair which reached to her neck and sky blue eyes and was 18 years old and attended a animation and art university at Palmerston North, Lyra wore square reading glasses due to poor vision, Lyra wore a plain white t-shirt, blue jeans with a grey hoodie tied around her waist and white sneakers.

Zyker was slightly chubby person, he had dark colored skin, he had a black afro, green eyes and was 17 years old, and was now a year thirteen at Queen Elizabeth college, and a pale red and light blue t-shirt underneath a black padded jacket, dark brown and light grey shorts and wore black leather lace-up shoes.

And last but not least Eleana, Eleana had a very large bust, elbow length wheat blonde hair and icy blue eyes, she also had slight pale skin and was 17 years old and along side Zyker was also a year thirteen, she wore a plain white t-shirt and lime green skirt with black knee length lace-up boots.

Lash, Lyra, Nevau, Zade and Zyker were good friends, and they had each other's backs, but there were times they would argue with each other, like Zade and Nevau or Zade and Lyra, but either way they were good friends, Nevau was the leader of the group, he was easy going, and funny guy who wouldn't raise his voice unless pushed to his limit.

Zade was the second leader or co-leader of the group, he was level headed out of all of them aside from Lyra as well as a fun guy even when pushed to his limited he would remain calm, he would rarely ever get angry.

Lyra was another leveled headed but fun person, she would usually be pointing out the flaws of a person (mainly Lash) but does it in a kind manner in order to not upset someone. 

Next was Zyker he had a good personality as well as enjoyed playing games with his friends he is often seen with Lash, and like Lash whenever the other got into an argument, the two would try to ignore it or break the argument up before it turned into a fight, he also had a crush on Lash's little sister; Eleana.

Eleana was a bubbly and friendly girl but was also slightly naive and childish at times, when Lash used attend school she would always be seen by his side aside from when class started.

And finally there was Lash, Lash was a quiet person rarely talking to people unless he could truly trust them, he had and the others were goofy when having fun, but most of the time he was silent (at times and talked when he felt like it).

"So what are we going to do?" Nevau asked the four, Lash shrugged his shoulders, "Cardfight?" Lyra said pulling out her Royal Paladin deck, "Sure!" Nevau said reaching into his bag and pulling out his Dark Irregulars deck, "Hang on... we should have a two on two match" Nevau said, "I'll join!" Zyker said grabbing his Aqua Force deck out of his jacket pocket.

"I'll just watch, plus I'm more of Magic and Yu-gi-oh person when it comes to card games" Zade said, "Lash?" Nevau said to Lash, "Sure" Lash said reaching into his bag and pulling out his Link Joker deck, "So who's teaming with who?" Zyker asked, "I'll team up with Lash" Nevau said, "Alright that means I'm Zyker" Lyra said sitting down in front of Nevau, Zyker sat in front of Lash.

The four pulled out their starting card and place it face down in front of them, they then shuffled their deck passed it to the person in front of them so that they can it cut before passing the deck back to its owner, they then drawed five cards and had a look at their hands, "I'll keep mine" Lyra said rather pleased of what she got in her hand, "Mulligan three" Lash said taking three cards out of his hand and placing them into his deck, he the shuffled his deck, "two" Nevau said taking two cards out his hand and place into his deck and then began shuffling it, "None" Zyker said looking at his hand and sounding rather pleased, Lash and Nevau passed their decks to the person in front of them, Lyra and Zyker cut their decks and passed them back to their owners, Lash drawed three cards, while Nevau drawed two.

"Paper, scissors, rock to see who goes first" Nevau stretching his fist out, Zyker did the same and the two shook their hands, Nevau got rock, while Zyker got paper, "Alright it goes clockwise, first Zyker will star first, then Lyra, then me and then Lash who will be allowed to attack first!" Nevau explained, "Sounds good" Lash said, the four then grabbed their face-down starting card..."STAND UP THE VANGUARD!" They declared. 

After awhile and Lyra and Zyker won the match, "Aw boo! My big brother lost!" Eleana pouted after seeing Lash lose, "Now what?" Nevau asked, "Let's take a walk around town" Lyra suggested and as the six stood up and were about to leave, when the ground begun to shake.

"W-whoa earthquake!' Zyker said struggling to stand up, "And it's a big one!" Lyra said, "Zaaaaaaade!" Lash and Nevau said looking at Zade, "What I didn't fart! Honest!" Zade said as he scratched the back of his head and smiled cheekily behind his mask and at that moment the six where engulfed in a bright light, they screamed as the light became more intense and then faded away along with the six. 

Lash groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, once Lash eyes where fully opened he sat up and found himself sitting in a bed, "Where am I?" Lash asked himself and he looked around to find himself in a bedroom, the room had cloud wallpaper on the walls, pink carpets and there were a few drawers in the corner and one had a picture on it.

Lash got up and walked up to the drawer and picked the picture frame, the picture had a man on it, he looked like he was in his mid thirties, the man was unusually tall almost the height of a tree, he had short purple hair, dark red eyes, with a scar near his right eye, he had a muscular figure, with a massive scar on his chest, he had a zodiac symbol on his right shoulder, both his arms and the ankle of his right leg had bandages on them, he wore a dark brown trench coat with the sleeves missing, he wore dark blue jeans and brown cuff boots, next to the man was woman, the woman looked like she was also in her mid thirties.

The woman just about reached to the man's chest, the woman had short purple hair, Lash couldn't see her eyes due to them being closed as she was smiling, the woman wore a dark green dress and brown shoes.

"Guess that's his wife" Lash said to himself as he continued to look at the picture of the man and woman, "Oh your awake!" A woman voice said, Lash turned his head to see the same woman in the photo, "Oh you're looking at a photo of me and my son" the woman said, Lash quickly turned his head back to the photo with wide eyes, 'That man is her son?!' Lash said to himself.

"Well if you're done come downstairs, your friends are waiting for you!" The woman said, walking out of the room, "The others are here too!" Lash said, before following the woman downstairs.

When Lash walked into the kitchen, he only saw Nevau and Zade, "Morning sleeping beauty!" Zade said jokingly to Lash, "Hey where are the others?" Lash asked looking around trying to find Lyra, Zyker and Eleana, "Don't know when we woke up we found ourselves in that room where you were, and when we asked that woman, she said she didn't see two girls and a guy with an afro. Only us and apparently we were unconscious near a lake" Nevau said, "Oh well do you know where we are?" Lash asked feeling his heart sunk for the fear that Eleana might be in danger.

"No sorry dude, and if you're worried about sister, Lyra and Zyker are probably with her" Nevau said, "Yeah your right" Lash smiled faintly, just as he sat down the woman walked into the kitchen, "You boys must be hungry" she said, "Yeah" Zade said hearing his stomach growl at him, "You're nearly always hungry!" Nevau growled at Zade, the woman dished up three bowls of stew and placed the bowls in front of them, no sooner had she place the bowls down the three dug into the stew.

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Mandy O'Malley and you three are?" Mandy asked, "I'm Nevau Mines, the guy with the glasses is Zade McLean and the guy with the blonde hair is Lash Billings. He tends not to speak much" Nevau said after he had finish his bowl of stew.

Once Zade had finish his bowl of stew, "Where are we?" He asked, "If you are meaning his world, then it's called Arcadia, and the area is pretty much one of the outskirts of Hecara" Mandy said, "Then we're not on earth anymore" Nevau said, "I guess you three are going to head off and find your friends?" Mandy said and Lash nodded, "Well then" Mandy said walking out of the kitchen and walking back in with three broadswords and with Lash, Nevau and Zade's bags.

"Take these and here's your bags, don't worry all your stuff are still there" Mandy said passing the swords and bags to the three, "Here's a bag of coins for your travels and here's a picture and in case you find my son, he might be able to help if come across him on your travels" Mandy said passing the bag of coins to Zade and giving the picture of her son to Lash.

"Thanks for generosity, but why do we need these?" Nevau asked pointing to the sword strapped around his torso, Lash also strapped his sword around his waist and place his bag on over his right shoulder, Nevau and Zade had their bags on and Zade had his sword strapped around his torso, "There are dangerous people and creatures roaming the wilderness of our world and since you three are not from here, you'll need to defend yourselves" Mandy said, "Thanks again" Nevau said as he, Lash and Zade walked out the front door.

"Just remember to stick to the roads and good luck finding you friends!" Mandy said while waving goodbye to the three, "We will" Zade said, the three then waved goodbye as they travel down the road to the nearest city or town or village, "Well let's go! Last one to the nearest town, city or village is a rotten egg!" Nevau said bolting off down the road, "You're on!" Zade said chasing after Nevau, "Hey! Wait for me!" Lash called out chasing after the two.


	2. On the road and the nightmare

While continuing to follow the road to a village, town or city, the three decided to take a little break, to try and recollect their thoughts of the events that had happened up to now, Zade and Nevau discussed on how they're to try and find their missing friends, while Lash just looked at the sword that was given to him by Mandy, Lash had never wield a real sword before and if the time comes for when he had to use it he feared that he would hesitate in either drawing the blade itself or having to end someone's life, Lash just shook his head "The time for that will come when it comes!" Lash said to himself, he then got up and walked towards Zade and Nevau, "Should we head off now?" Lash asked the two, "Yeah let's try and reach wherever this road is heading before it gets dark!" Zade said, Nevau and Zade got up and the three continued down the road.

Before long the three reached a village, they walked into the village and was greeted by a villager, "Welcome to Kawasaki village, "I'm Rowan and you are?" Rowan asked the three, "I'm Zade" Zade introduced himself, "I'm Nevau and the blonde guy next to me is Lash" Nevau said introducing himself and Lash to Rowan, Lash placed up his right hand in a quick wave, "nice to meet you all" Rowan said with a smile, "hey Rowan is there an Inn we can rest at?" Nevau asked, "Yes there is, I'll show where it is" Rowan said showing the three to the Inn, "Well here we are enjoy your stay" Rowan said as he walked away waving goodbye to the three, Lash, Zade and Nevau waved goodbye to Rowan and entered the Inn.

Once inside the Inn, "Hello and welcome to Honey-brew Inn!" a woman greeted the three behind a counter, "Hi how much is for a room each?" Zade asked the woman, "25 coins each" The woman said, "Alright here you go" Zade said giving the woman 75 coins, "Thank you and enjoy your stay sirs!" The woman said, "Oh also have you seen two girls one with short blonde hair and one with long wheat blonde hair with a lock of hair overlapping her left shoulder and wearing a maroon red shirt and a guy with dark skin an afro and the same maroon red shirt?" Zade asked, "Let me see..." The woman said opening the vacancy book and flipping through the pages, "What are their names?" The woman asked, "Lyra, Eleana and Zyker" Zade replied, the woman looked through all the pages, "Room 22 is booked by a Man called Zyker and there are two girls; one called Lyra and the other Eleana, Room 22 also has six beds" The woman said not taking her eyes off the book, "Ok thanks, can we also use that room?" Zade asked, "Sure, you've already paid for you and your friends there, just knock on the door to see if they're there" The woman said, Zade thanked the woman and the three then headed down the corridor looking at door numbers as they passed.

"Here we are!" Nevau said looking at the last door on the right, Nevau knocked on the twice, "I'm coming!" A male's voice called out, the door then opened and standing before the three was their friend Zyker, "Counselor Pudding cup!!!" Zade and Lash called in enthusiasm at seeing their friend again, "Lash, Nevau and Zade!!!" Zyker said in the same enthusiasm at the sight of his friends, the four did a little dance before walking into room 22, Lash closed the behind him, when he turned around he was tackled to the ground by Eleana, "Big Brother! I missed you" Eleana said while hugging her brother, "Geez Eleana it hasn't even been a day" Lyra said walking into the room, "Well she is clingy" Lash said patting his sister on the head, "Also Lash! Zyker saw Eleana naked" Lyra blurted, "What?!" Lash said in confusion while looked at Zyker, "I was in heaven for ten seconds before she threw a bar of soap in my face" Zyker said with bliss, Lash, Nevau and Zade just sighed, "Typical Zyker!" Nevau said, after Lash, Zade and Nevau dropped their gear onto their beds, the six order some food.

Lyra explained what happened when they woke up on Arcadia, how Zyker, Lyra and Eleana woke up on some farm, the owner helped them out giving them food, weapons to defend themselves, their bags, and some money to help them out, the farmer then dropped the three off at Kawasaki Village, "So you woke up on a farm, me, Lash and Zade woke up in a cottage owned by a woman called Mandy" Nevau said, "I see" Lyra said scratching her chin, "Well what are we going to do, we don't have any clue on how we got here!" Eleana said, "Yeah, it all just happened so fast, one minute we're at school about to head to class, the next we're here, and the only thing we remember about how we got here, was that massive earthquake and flash of bright light!" Zade said, "Well Mandy told us to look for her son, he can probably help us out since we're new to this world, heck maybe he can help us find who or what had brought us here as well!" Nevau said, "Alright but what does he look like?" Zyker said, Lash reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture of Mandy's son and gave it to Lyra, Lyra, Eleana and Zyker examined the picture, their eyes widen in disbelief of what they're seeing but said nothing, after awhile, "Yeah we should look for this guy maybe he can help us" Lyra said passing the picture back to Lash, "Well we should get some sleep we got a long journey ahead of us!" Nevau said, "Yeah goodnight everyone" Zyker said, the six climbed into their bed and fell asleep.

Later that night, Lash shook his head violently as he slept, Lash found himself in a forest clearing, dense fog covered the area and grey trees loomed over the clearing almost as if to devour him, Lash also found himself running, "What am I running away from?" Lash asked himself, he turned his head to see the reason why he was running, Lash saw a giant wolf creature, probably the size of an elephant with spike coming out of both its shoulders, it had icy blue fur, fangs that could tear a man apart within seconds, and piercing red eyes, and a tail and could snap someone into two, the wolf creature suddenly glowed a bright pale blue light and then split into two wolf creatures, the two wolf creatures had the similar appearance as the big one, but different colored fur and different eye color, one had light brown fur and piercing yellow eyes, and the other had dark blue fur with piercing icy blue eyes, both were the size of a bear, Lash continued running until he trip over a root and landing flat on his face, "Ow! Why does it feel like i'm in a horror movie, seriously dense fog, spooky trees tripping over while running and something trying to kill me!" Lash groaned in pain, when Lash turned his head, the two wolf creatures were now in the air lunging towards him.

Lash then woke up in a cold sweat and breathing heavily, Lash looked towards the window to see the sun rising, "Are you okay?" Eleana asked walking up next to Lash, Eleana was fully dressed, she had woken up earlier, "Yeah I just had a bad dream!" Lash said, "Well now that your up get ready we'll be leaving as soon as the others wake!" Zade said walking into the room, Lash nodded, he then got out of bed and chucked on his jeans and shirt, placed on his shoes and tied the laces up, Lash check his bag to see if his trench-coat and beanie where there, and they where, Lash chucked on his beanie and trench-coat, his beanie was black and had a picture of a lime green diamond on it and his coat was black and also reached to his knees, and had six buttons on the right side. 

After five minutes Zyker, Nevau and Lyra woke up, they got dressed and Zade informed them that they where leaving, Lyra suggested that they should breakfast first, "We're going to need the strength if we are heading out of town and into the wilderness!" Lyra said, "Yeah that might be a good idea" Zade said, the six exited the room and ordered some breakfast, after they had their breakfast, "Oh you're heading off now?" The woman at the counter asked, "Yeah" Nevau said, "Well hold on before you leave...Take these!" the woman said walking into a room and walking out with six bags, "What are these?" Nevau asked, "sleeping bags and tents you're going to need them especially if you're not in a town, oh and don't worry those are completely free, courtesy of Honey-brew Inn!" the woman said with a sweet smile, the six thanked the woman and left the Inn. 

They then walked into a shop in order to buy supplies for their journey as well as a map to help, after that they left Kawasaki village, and headed down the road to the next town in order to find Mandy's son who might be able to help them solve the mystery of how they where sent to Arcadia and who's knows what allies and foes they'll meet, for little did they know their journey has just began!


	3. Time to fight!

Lash once again found himself in the same forest clearing from last night, but this time he was standing in what looks like the center of the clearing, the dense fog was still there as well as the spooky trees that look as if they were trying to devour the clearing, Lash looked around to see if he could find those wolf creatures coming after, but they were nowhere in sight, he let out a sigh of relief, "Where am I anyway?" Lash asked himself, he then sat down, he and the others had only been in Arcadia for two days and a half, so why was something like this happening, back on Earth Lash never experience a place like this, was there a strange atmosphere in Arcadia that was different to Earth's, after awhile Lash got back up onto his feet, "Well this has been boring!" Lash said with a bored expression on his face. 

Suddenly the ground beneath Lash began to shake, Lash while trying maintain his balance looked around to see the same icy blue wolf creature running towards him, however Lash remember the nightmare from last night how he was running away from the same creature but at that time the ground did not shake as the beast chased after Lash last time, then out of nowhere a giant claw like hand erupted from the ground and was hurling towards Lash.

He let out a scream as he woke up in a cold sweat, Lash realizing he was in his sleeping bag, he let out a few heavy pants before checking his body to make sure that Freddy Kruger wasn't the son of a bitch behind the nightmares, there wasn't a single slash mark on his body, Lash let out a sigh of relief before chucking on his t-shirt, blue jeans with the belt, black shoes and black gloves, he tied his hair up in a low ponytail and placed on his beanie as well as trench-coat and exited his tent, Lash zipped up his tent to make sure no bugs sneaked in and gave him a heart attack, he turned around to see Zade sitting there, if one didn't know him well, they would assume he was a creeper waiting there, but Lash knew Zade and that Zade had once told him that he had once stayed up from 9:00 pm to 12:00 pm and not feel a little bit drowsy, but Lash could tell that Zade had at least gotten some sleep, the embers of the campfire glowed a dim yellow and orange color, Lash took a look at the sky, the sky was a pale pinkish orange color signaling that dawn was approaching, Zade noticed Lash's presence, "Morning" Zade said to Lash, Lash just did hid his usually hmm in response, Lash sat down in front of the dying fire, before long the others woke, Nevau made everyone a quick breakfast before they headed off on their journey.

Zade and Nevau where in the front discussing their plans on reaching the next town, Lyra and Zyker where in the middle having a quick chat about the card games that they played and Lash and Eleana where at the back, Eleana saw that her brother had a troubled look on his face, it took careful observation to tell Lash's mood seeing how nearly every day he had an angry look on his face despite knowing Lash was troubled about something she didn't ask him what was wrong, she knew Lash hated talking about his problem, "Hey Zyker?" Eleana asked Zyker, "Yeah?" He asked, "Do you know where we are going?" Eleana asked, "Nope, but we'll have to wait and see" Zyker said, "Alright" Eleana said sounding a little disappointed, after a while the six saw what look like an outline of a city, "We're nearly there guys!" Nevau said to the rest but before they could continue on the path to that city they were suddenly surrounded by eight feral looking boar creatures, "W-what the hell!" Nevau said confused by the sudden attack, without delay the six had to draw their weapons, "So any one know how to use a sword?" Zyker asked, "I sort of practice with a wooden sword replica!" Lash said weakly and a sweat drop ran down his forehead, "Alright well Rowan did say that the wilderness was dangerous so..." Zyker said. 

Back when the six where about to leave Kawasaki village they were approached by Rowan who wished them good luck as well as giving them advice about the wilderness and how sometimes with most creatures and people it was kill or be killed, the six remembering those words, shook away their hesitation, and grip the hilts of their weapons tightly (Lash, Nevau and Zade's weapon were broadswords while Eleana, Lyra and Zyker's being long swords). 

Without any delay one of the boar creatures charged towards Zade, Zade saw this and quickly jumped out of the way, as he leaped he brought his broadswords crashing down on the boar creature's head, slicing it clean off, Eleana almost puked after seeing the creature stumble around without its head before collapsing onto the ground, "Whoa that was amazing man!" Nevau said in awe, two more of the boar creatures began to charge at Nevau and Lash, Lash chucked his sword at the boar creature's right eye, it let out a squeal of pain similar to that of a pig, Lash then cracked his right knuckle, and then punched the hilt of the sword, the creature fell over with blood seeping out of its eye "Ow! Ow! Ow! Not doing that again!" Lash groaned as he shook his right hand which was throbbing in pain, Lash then pulled his sword out ignoring the painful squeal of the creature and plunged his into its head he kept the blade lodged in its head until it had stopped thrashing and squealing as well as trying hold back the vomit in his mouth.

Nevau kept avoiding the creature who was fighting him, He kick the creature in the jaw, causing it to tilt it head up, Nevau then quickly slashed its throat with his sword, blood violently gushed out Nevau managed to jump out of the way but he got a few blood stains on his jeans, "Aw man!" Nevau said annoyed, four more began to charge towards them, Zyker swung his sword at the creature's legs, the creature saw this coming and hopped out the way, Zyker then kicked it in the left side of its head causing it to stumble to the left Zyker then saw his chance to strike and sent his sword straight in its heart killing it almost instantly.

Lyra avoided every attack the boar creature threw at her, Lyra kicked the creature four times in its face and sent sliced it throat, blood violently gushed out and Lyra's right sleeve of her shirt was covered in blood, Eleana weakly swung her sword towards at the one of the boar creatures that were attacking her, the creature managed to hop out of the way, but luckily Eleana managed to slash out its left eye, the second boar creature charging towards Eleana's back but before it could hit her, Zyker brought his chasing down with all his might, hacking off its head, Lash seeing his sister in trouble rushed towards the one Eleana manage to slice out its eye and leaped in the air and brought his right foot crashing down onto the boar creature's forehead and crushing its skull killing it almost immediately, "T-thank you big brother and Zyker!" Eleana thanked the two, "No sweat!" Zyker said with a big grin on his face, Lash gave Eleana a faint smile and patted her head, "It's not over yet you three there's still one left!" Lyra said to the three.

The last boar creature stepped forward, unlike the others this one was bigger probably the height of Lash, it had dark purple skin/fur where the others had a dark brown color, it had lime green eyes, where the others had yellow eyes, and unlike the other where they had red quills on their head, this one had a long black mane, "I'm guessing this one's the alpha!" Zade observed, the alpha boar creature let out a roar like squeal and then charged towards the six, Zade, Nevau and Lyra jumped out of the way of the incoming attack, Lash threw his sword at the creature but he only managed to graze the creature, "Aw... Smeg!" Lash said with worried expression on his face as he quickly leaped out of the way and rushed to where his sword had landed.

Zyker swung his sword at the creature's front legs, the creature saw this and hopped out the way, next Lyra jump and brought her sword crashing down, slashing out the creature's left eye, then suddenly to everyone's surprise the boar creature let out a high pitch squeal and ran off leaving everyone confused on what had just happened, "I guess it didn't think we'll land a good hit on it" Lyra said trying to sort everyone's confusion, "Well let's go before more show up!" Nevau said.

Once they had reached town, "So what's this place called?" Zyker asked, "I think Rowan said this place was called Aramark town!" Zade said, "Well let's see if this place has a clothes shop!" Lyra said, "Why?" Eleana asked, "Well look at the state of our clothes, they're almost tattered and have blood on them! And the only thing that doesn't have blood or had been tattered is Lash and Zyker's coats!" Lyra said, she then leaded the group around until they had found a clothes shop and walked in.

"Eleana you come with me, we need to get you out of your uniform!" Lyra said dragging Eleana off with her to the woman's district, "Well let's see what we have here, Also Lash and Zyker take off your coats I'll give them back once we're done" Zade said, Lash and Zyker took off their coats and passed them to Zade, Zade then place them into his bag and the four began looking for new clothes, after a while, the four had found new clothes for them to wear, Lash had found a plain black tank-top, some blue and black jeans as well as new black lace up shoes and new black finger-less gloves, no one question his taste of clothing and also a plain white shirt, Zade passed Lash back his trench-coat, Lash place it back on, Zade was now wearing; a new dark blue mask, a black t-shirt, grey jeans and blue sneakers, Nevau was now wearing a plain blue shirt, black jeans and black sneakers, and Zyker was now wearing a blue and white t-shirt, red shorts and black leather shoes, Zade passed back Zyker his Black bubble jacket and he place it back on, Zade then paid for the clothes and waited for Eleana and Lyra to get back.

Once the girls got back they were now wearing new clothes, Eleana now wore a baby blue sleeveless button up shirt, a lime green skirt, blue knee socks, white lace up boots and dark purple finger-less glove with a heart shape on the back part of her hands and the gloves reach all the way up to her shoulders, "U-um how do I look?" Eleana asked, "Amazing!" Zyker said giving Eleana a thumps up, Lyra was now wearing a light red shirt, a white zip up jersey, black jeans, and black sneakers, and she was also wearing her beanie had long ears and a round circle on the forehead part that she got from a shop, Lyra then paid for the clothes that the girls had got, the man behind the cashier gave Lyra a small bag telling her that if they put their clothes in it they will be repaired as well as cleaned, Lyra didn't buy it but took the bag anyway, "Oh big brother I got you two new beanies for you just in case!" Eleana said showing her brother two beanies one was black and the other was blue and had cat ears on it, "Thanks sis" Lash said with a smile, "Well if everyone's ready let's head out!" Lyra said walking out the door, Zade was the second to walked, followed by Nevau the Zyker and then Eleana, Lash was about to follow when he suddenly pricked his thumb on something sharp, "Ah!" Lash said, he then looked at his thump, he looked at his thump dumbfounded as a line of thick black blood, he quickly rubbed his eyes and the blood was a regular crimson red, he quickly cleaned the blood of his thumb and quickly walked out to catch up to the others.


	4. The forest

Two days passed and the six continued walking down the path but this time Nevau thought they should take a sub path to help them get Allure town and he ended up getting them lost in a forest, "Way to go idiot!" Zade yelled with an annoyed tone at Nevau, "Hey I thought this sub path would help us, how was I suppose to know we were going to get lost!" Nevau yelled back, the two began arguing with each other, "There they go again!" Eleana said annoyed with the amount of times Zade and Nevau had argued already, "Just leave them be if not let just throw some water at them!" Lyra said not taking her eyes off the map and trying to work out where they are with Lash nodding in agreement, the two then sat down and pulled out their sketchbooks, Zyker was sitting near the campfire and was daydreaming about Eleana in a maid's outfit with drool on his mouth and Eleana felt a cold shiver run down her spine. 

"Hey Lyra any idea where we are?" Nevau asked Lyra, "Nope!" Lyra said, "Well this wouldn't of happened if we kept to the damn path!" Zade said coldly at Nevau, "Hey I thought taking a sub path would help us get to Allure faster, how was I supposed to know we would get lost!" Nevau yelled back, "Well maybe next time you should use your goddamn brain!" Zade grumbled, the two continued bickering at each other, with Eleana, Lash and Lyra obviously becoming more annoyed, Zyker however was still in his daydream, "*Sigh* You know instead of arguing over this how about we get a move on and try to find a way out!" Lyra said interrupting the two, "Alright fine!" Zade said as he let out a sigh, Lash got up and placed a hand Nevau's right shoulder shaking his head when he Nevau clenched his fist, Nevau calmed down and the two snapped Zyker out his daydream.

After a while of walking the six came to what looked like the center of the forest, "This looks like a good place to set up camp for tonight" Zade said, Eleana saw something at the edge of the clearing, "Hey what's that?" Eleana said, "What's what?" Lash asked, Eleana then pointed to some weird stone contraption, Lash, Lyra, Nevau and Zade looked at where she was pointing and saw it, the six then walked towards it, "What is it?" Nevau asked, "How are we supposed know that!" Zade shot back, Eleana began to walk closer to the contraption to have a better look, "Eleana don't we don't know what that thing is!" Lyra warned Eleana, but when Eleana got close enough, a flash of white light appeared, Eleana screamed in surprised, "ELEANA!!!" Lash shouted covering his eyes from the light, the light grew more intense and engulfed the others and when it faded, they were still in the forest clearing, "Nothing happened" Zyker said, "Eleana are you okay?" Nevau asked Eleana, The group saw Eleana just standing and then suddenly she collapsed backwards, but Lash was just able to catch her before she hit the ground. 

Eleana slowly opened her eyes to see that she was still in the forest clearing, Eleana looked around and saw that her head was resting on Lash's bag as well as Lash's coat placed over her body to keep her warm, she also saw Lash sitting under a tree with his sketch book and pencil out, she decided that she needed some rest and closed her eyes again.

Eleana found herself in a bright meadow filled with daisies, "I'm here again?" Eleana said to herself, Eleana looked around she saw a meadow that stretched for miles, Eleana turned her head to see a giant raven standing just a few meters away from Eleana, it then let out a cry before flying off blowing a gust of wind and a few feathers at Eleana, Eleana has had these strange dreams for the last four days, it was always the same Eleana just standing in the meadow with the same giant raven looking at her before it flies away, all with the exception of the second night they had spent on Arcadia, she had seen a giant dragon probably the height of ten story building, standing on its hind legs, with pure white scales and large angle like wings, a long tail that moved around a lot and soft light blue eyes.

Eleana woke up and looked around to see everyone but Lash were asleep, Lash had cold sweat dripping down his forehead, "Are you okay?" Eleana asked Lash, "Y-yeah I'm fine, but what about you are you alright?" Lash asked Eleana, "Yeah I'm alright" Eleana told Lash with a smile on her face, Lash just looked at Eleana with a concerned look on his but said nothing, Eleana looked up at the sky to see it was still dark, "Hey Lash can I ask you something?" Eleana asked, "What?" Lash said, "Do you miss anyone back home?" Eleana asked, Lash just remained quiet, Eleana could tell that Lash didn't miss anyone besides their parents, "Come on let's get some rest!" Lash said giving Eleana her pillow and sleeping-bag, and chucked his sleeping bag on and closing his eyes, "Goodnight!" Eleana said before falling asleep.

In the morning the six woke up early except Lash, so Nevau just chucked him over his shoulders and the six carried on to find an exit out of the forest, Eleana wore Lash's coat until he would wake up, "We must be getting closer to the exit now!" Lyra said frustrated, "Sounds like Lash is waking up!" Nevau said placing Lash back onto his feet, ""*Yawn* Huh!? Where are we?" Lash asked feeling a little tired, "Still in the forest dude!" Nevau said putting him down, Lash stretched a bit as Eleana handed his coat back.

The six continued down the path they were following with Lyra and Nevau in the front, Zade and Zyker in the middle and Lash and Eleana at the back, while they were walking, Lash kept turning his head to the back, he had a suspicion that someone or something was following them, "What's wrong?" Eleana asked, "Do you have a feeling like something tailing us!" Lash said, "Somewhat yes" Eleana said, suddenly the six heard the rustling of leaves coming from behind them, "Come out we know your there!" Lash yelled at the figure in the leaves, just as Lash had spoken a figure leaped out of the bushes and landed in front of Lash and Eleana, "It's a guy!" Nevau said in shock, "Well no shit Sherlock!" Zade said, "Oh don't you two start again!" Lyra and Lash shouted at the two, the male had silver and black spiky hair, a somewhat gentle looking face with emerald eyes and a sly smile, he wore a scarf with the ends reaching to his waist, a black and white tank top, green jeans, black sneakers and black gloves and he looked no older than Lash and Lyra. 

"Who are you?" Eleana asked, "The name's Shade!" Shade said introducing himself, "Okay... good to know, but why are you following us?" Zyker asked, "Well... if you must know I was bored and was walking through this forest until I sensed something and came to see what it was" Shade said, "Is that why you're following us?" Lash asked with a monotone voice, "Only half of it, I'm also a bounty hunter!" Shade said, "But we've done nothing to earn a hit on our heads!" Nevau said, "True, but I'm sensing something strange coming off of you six! Mainly you three" Shade said as he pointed towards Lash, Nevau and Zade. 

Before the six could say something, one of the ends of Shade's scarf wrapped around his right arm and then unwrapping to reveal a metal baseball bat in his hand, "W-what the hell!" Nevau said shocked, "Can't we just talk about this?" Eleana asked, "Sorry! But no can do! We going to have to fight!" Shade apologized to Eleana and readied himself for a fight, the six pulled out their weapons and got into a defensive stance, Shad charged and swung his bat and knocked Nevau's sword out of his hand and spin kicked Nevau in the ribs sending him into a nearby patch of grass, and Lyra carefully ran towards Shade and kicked him in the back and allowed Lash to punch Shade so hard that he knocked him to the ground, "Wow! That hurt!" Shade groaned as he rubbed his lower chin.

He then got up and headbutted Lash and aimed his right palm at Lash's midsection and before Lash could react, "Shadow sphere!" Shade said firing a soccer ball sized purple ball that sent Lash hurling into a tree knocking him out, "What was that!?" Lyra asked but received no answer from Shade, Zade ran towards Shade and karate chopped him in the ribs, Shade retaliated by swinging his bat at Zade but Zade blocked it with his sword and Nevau who now backed on his feet and kicked Shade in the ribs, and Zyker headbutted the left side of Shade's forehead, Eleana ran up where Lash was lying checked to make sure he was still alive, Lyra ran up to Eleana and was about to pull out some medicine but saw Lash slowly lifted himself up.

Shortly after Lash had been knocked out, he woke up to find himself back in the forest that looked like it belonged in a horror movie, Lash grunted in pain as he got to his feet, Lash looked around until he saw one of the wolf creature had suddenly appeared in front of him, it was the dark blue furred one, "So you are finally awake are you boy" The creature spoke with rough mocking tone of voice, "Who are you?" Lash asked, "My name is Skoll, named after the warg that chases the moon! And one of the son's of Fenrir!" Skoll introduced himself, "Well I'm Lash!" Lash said, "I know who you are boy!" Skoll said, "Alright fine, what do you want?" Lash asked, "I'm here to help!" Skoll said, "Why?" Lash asked again, "No time to explain, your friends are in trouble, so hold out your right arm!" Skoll demanded, Lash did what was asked of him, he held out his right hand, and then Skoll started to glow a dark blue light that grew and engulfed Lash.

Lash grunted in pain as he got back on his feet, "Are you okay?" Eleana asked, "Huh... yeah! Well slightly..." Lash muttered and curved his back until he heard a click, "Man you can take a hit for a twig!" Lyra joked, Lash grabbed his sword and charged towards Shade again, "And that there he goes..." Lyra sighed, Shade noticed Lash running towards him and fired a shadow sphere at him, but Lash seeing the sphere hurling towards him swung his sword at the sphere and the moment his sword slice the sphere in half his sword changed. 

The blade became an inch longer with the middle of the blade became a somewhat like spikes, the tip of the blade became like the tip of an arrow, the guard of the weapon curved up with a capital S on the middle of the guard, the hilt change to a dark blue color and the end had a spike on it, the blade changed from a grayish white color to an icy blue color.

"W-what the!?" Lash said shocked, "His weapon changed!" Lyra said in disbelief, "Hey Lash let's go!" Nevau shouted to Lash, Lash nodded in response and the two charged towards Shade and Zade held him back, however Shade forced Zade back and fired two Shadow spheres towards Lash and Nevau, Lash and Nevau dodged the spheres and picked up their speed and rushed towards Shade, "Oh... boy!" Shade said grabbing his bat and swung at Nevau, Nevau ducked down avoiding the attack.

Lash and Nevau then slammed their feet on the ground and then the two punched Shade dead in the face and sent him flying, Shade landed back first knocking the air out of him, "Oh... that... definitely hurt!" Shade yelled with both hands on his face, Lash then grabbed his sword and charged toward Shade again, Shade saw Lash coming after him, "Oh crap! Whelp time to go!" Shade said to himself, he then reach into his pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it at the ground, a huge cloud of smoke erupted and stopped Lash in tracks and when the smoke faded, Shade was gone, "He's gone!" Lash said, "Where did he go?" Eleana asked looking around, "Don't know" Zyker replied, "Let's not dwell on where he went and let's go!" Lyra told everyone and the six then headed off on the path they were following.

The sun was beginning to set and the six had finally found their way out of the forest and saw the town of Allure in the horizons, "See I knew taking a sub path would get us to Allure faster!" Nevau said, "Yeah but if had kept to the path we wouldn't of meet that bounty hunter!" Zade said to Nevau, "Yeah but how would you know he wouldn't come after us if we kept to the path, plus Lash has new sword now!" Nevau barked at Zade, the two began bickering while they continued to walk to Allure, while the others just sighed and followed the bickering duo now the six had made an enemy, who know what dangers are waiting for them as their journey continues.


	5. Allure town

"Oh my...What happened here?" Eleana asked with her hands covering her mouth and visibly shocked at what she was looking at, when the six arrived to Allure town, they were greeted by a horrid site, the corpses of both strange abomination like creatures and men, women and children littered the town gave of the impression that the town had been attacked recently, with destroyed buildings with some that had smoke rising into the sky, blood stained the walls of buildings, the ground and plants, weapons laid scattered across the town, "Hello! Is anyone here?!" Nevau shouted in hopes of someone who survived the attack would answer however he received no reply, "Damn, how did this even happen?" Lash asked, "Who's knows" Zade said while scanning the area. 

After a while of standing in silence, "I think we should split up and try and find out what caused this!" Lyra finally spoke breaking the silence, "Sounds like an idea!" Nevau agreed, "Alright we'll go in groups of two, Me, Nevau and Zyker will go in that direction" Lyra said pointing to a path that leads up a giant hill, "And Me, Lash and Eleana will go in that direction!" Zade said pointing to a path that leads to a watering hole, Lyra, Nevau and Zyker began to follow the path up the hill, while Zade, Lash and Eleana followed the path down to the watering hole.

"Why does this feel like a mystery?" Lash asked himself as he followed Zade and Eleana to the watering hole, once Zade's group reached the watering hole they began looking around for clues or hope they can at least find a survivor who could tell them what happened. 

After a while, "I think I found something!" Eleana called out to Zade and Lash, the two rushed to Eleana and she pointed to a small gab, "I think I saw something glittering in there!" Eleana said, "I'll get it!" Lash said taking his coat off and crouching near where Eleana was pointing and reaching his hand down the small gap and felt something round and metallic, "There is something down here!" Lash said, "Can you get it out?" Zade asked, "Yeah it is small, luckily!" Lash said he then pulled his arm back and placed the metallic object on the ground; it was in a ball shape and had the omega symbol on it that was also glowing faint red light and was the size of a tennis ball, "What is it?" Eleana asked, "Don't know, after all we are still new to this world" Zade said, he then grabbed the ball, "Come on we should let the others know what we've found" Zade said walking down the path back to the entrance, with Eleana close behind, Lash was about to follow as well when he caught a glimpse of his right arm, his eyes widen when he saw that his arm wasn't human, it was a jet black reptilian arm with red markings on it, "W-what the?!" Lash said shocked, his arm then returned back to normal after Lash quickly rubbed his eyes, "I might be seeing things" Lash said wryly and started to run after Zade and Eleana in order to catch up to them after he put his coat back on.

With Lyra's group, they had followed the path up to a large hill and found a large tree in the stages of decaying, Lyra, Nevau and Zyker began to look around for some form of clues or any hints of survivors, Nevau again yelled hello in hopes that if someone did survive they would hear his calls, but once again he received no reply, "Damn!" Nevau said shaking his head in disappointment, Zyker walked up to the tree and saw something glitter in the light of the afternoon sun, Zyker reached down and picked it up it was a tennis ball shape metal ball with the symbol of alpha on it and the alpha was glowing a faint blue light, "What's that?" Lyra asked noticing what Zyker was holding, "Don't know I found it at the root of this tree" Zyker said, "Well let's report back to the others and let them know what we have found" Lyra said, the three then followed the path back down to the entrance.

When the two groups re-met, they each stated that they had found no trace of any survivors, but when they came to the subject of what they had found Lash reached into his pocket and pulled out the metal ball with the omega symbol on it, Zyker reached into his pocket and pulled out the metal ball with the alpha symbol on it, "Are these the cause of this?" Eleana asked looking at both metal balls, "Don't know" Nevau said scratching his temple, then the group then hear voices coming from the distance of watering hole, the group could hear their voices and one of the voices they recognized, it was Shade's voice, "Hide!" Lyra said to the others, the group hid in one of the destroyed buildings, they could hear Shade's and the person he was with voice clearly. 

"Man everyone dead in over an hour!" Shade said looking around, Shade had a bandage on the bridge of his nose, probably due to both Lash and Nevau punching him in the face at the same time, but the man he was with was strange, he hunch over, wore dark clothing, black goggles with red lenses, and black mask covering his lower part of his face, he wore a long sleeve shirt, black gloves, black jeans, boots and a metal arm pad on his left shoulder with the engraving of a scorpion tail on it, and wore four belt in an x routine on his chest. 

"Yes! The entire town was wiped out to these abomination's sudden attack, and the cause of this remains a mystery!" the masked man said, "But what were they looking for?" Shade asked, "I believe these abomination were probably attracted to the magical energy released when the local found these two metal orbs one had the symbol of alpha and one had the symbol of omega.

Upon hearing this Lash and Zyker pulled out the metal orbs and Eleana noticed Shade's ears twitched and quickly hid her head, "Well let's leave there's obviously nothing here...anymore, isn't that right... you six!" Shade said turning around and looking at the destroyed building that the group hid in, the man Shade was with turned and looked at the same destroyed building Shade was looking at. 

"Come out! You're all too old to play hide and seek aren't you?" Shade asked, "Damn no point hiding!" Nevau said, the group got up from where they were hiding, "Didn't think we'd meet two times in one day" Shade said with a smile on his face, "What do you want?" Lash asked, "Oh! No reason, but you haven't seen any metal orbs have you?" Shade asked, "Maybe" Zade replied, "Well, if you give the ones in your and that guy with the afro's hands to the kind gentle man next to me, we'll be on our merry way" Shade said pointing to Lash and Zyker, Lash and Zyker moved their hands from their back each holding the metallic balls, "I'll be taking those!" the man said, "And how do we know you won't use them for your own use?" Lyra asked, "Because we have reason to believe that those orbs are the reason for why everyone here was killed by these abominations" the man replied to Lyra's question, "Just give us the orbs and we'll be off without a fight and I'm pretty sure you guys don't want to fight me twice" Shade said.

Lash threw the metallic ball with the omega symbol to Shade, and he caught it, "And the other one!" Shade said reaching out his left arm, Lash gave Zyker a nod and Zyker threw the metallic ball with the alpha symbol to Shade, and he caught it, "Thanks, see if we play nice we can all get a long" Shade said with smile on his face.

Lash clenched his fist, he was coming to hate the smile on Shade's face, it reminded him of the one person that he so desperately wanted to kill, Lash then had a flashback to his first year at Queen Elizabeth College back on earth a memory he never wanted to remember.


	6. Repressed memories

Five years ago and two months after Lash had turned thirteen, Lash back then had shorter hair, he was still skinny as he was now and was a year one at Queen Elizabeth College, he wore the school's maroon red shirt, black dress school jeans, black leather lace-up shoes, and the school's black polar-fleece zipped-up, back then his face looked more sadder than the angry look on his face he had now, back then he was more timid, shyer and would sometimes walk away when someone tried to engage in a conversation with him.

"I see you are sitting on your own again dude" a young Nevau walked up to Lash followed by a young Zade and a young Lyra and a young, Nevau back then was a year ten, he wore the school's maroon red shirt, black dress jeans and black leather lace-up shoes, his black hair did not cover the left side of his face, back then his hair was more curly. 

Zade also a year ten, he wore the school's maroon red shirt, black dress jeans, black leather lace-up shoes, and his dark blue mask, but he didn't wear his glasses back then(The reason why he wore glasses in the first place was because he stared at the sun a lot which lead to him having poor eye sight), his hair was more flame orange color and was shorter. 

Lyra wore the school's maroon red shirt, black dress jeans, black lace-up shoes, the black polar-fleece un-zipped and the same glasses that she wears now. 

the four where a part of what they called; the group, Nevau being the leader, Zade and Lyra the brains and Lash the mascot or the quiet one(Maybe more of the mascot), Nevau and Zade back then were on better terms and more friendlier to each other then they are now they hardly ever bickered with each other back then, they were good times back then, three months passed and the day Lash thought he would never have hated someone to the point that he wanted to see them dead came.

Zack Henry, Lash had known him since his time at Monrad intermediate, he didn't bully Lash to much back at Monrad, however the moment they went to Queen Elizabeth College, he became a thorn in Lash's neck ever since, and the day Lash had enough was on a Tuesday, the day's early morning proceeded as normal Lash got to class on time, and Zack would try to annoy him, by saying his name in a stupid tone or throwing bits of paper at him, or trying to steal his equipment, and Lash was becoming visibly more and more annoyed. 

After second period was the breaking point, at interval, Lash was walking to the quad where him, Nevau, Zade and Lyra would meet, however he had an unwanted guest following him, "Hey where you going?" Zack asked in a mocking tone, Zack had short curly grayish brown, he had a big mouth with slightly buck teeth, normal white skin, a tall somewhat skinny appearance and wore the school's uniform.

"None of you business!" Lash quietly spat and was getting more and more annoyed with his presence alone and he had enough when Zack mocked the things Lash found precious to him, then out of everyone surprise even Zack's, Lash suddenly grabbed Zack by the throat tightly and began crushing his throat, the horror in his eyes made would have made Lash smile but he didn't only stare at Zack with a cold soul piercing gaze that made it look like icicles were piercing your very body.

Outside Zade and Nevau were chatting about games the played last night until they heard someone yell; someone quick get the teachers!, wondering what was going on, they went inside and saw Lash choking the life out of Zack, the two were hesitant at first, enjoying the view of seeing Zack getting what he deserved, but decided to stop it so that their friend wouldn't be kicked out of school and becoming a murderer, Zade went up behind Lash and tried to pull him away, but to no avail, "Hey Nevau! Give me a hand will you, I think Lash has a death grip on Zack's neck!" Zade shouted at Nevau, "How do you want me to help?" Nevau asked, "You grab Lash and I'll grab Zack, once you pull Lash away, get him in a headlock to prevent him from launching himself for another go at Zack's neck!" Zade explained.

Nevau nodded in agreement and Zade let go of Lash's shoulders and went behind Zack and grabbed his shoulders, Nevau quickly got a hold on Lash and the two began to try and pry Lash off of Zack, soon two teachers arrived on the scene, the art teacher Mrs. Adson and one of the english teachers Mr. Argon, "What's going on?" Mrs. Adson asked, "We'll explain later just help us get Lash off of Zack!" Nevau shouted at the two teachers looked at each other and nodded seeing that the explanation of what is happening will have to wait, Mrs. Adson got behind Nevau and grabbed him around the stomach, and Mr. Argon got behind Zade and grabbed him around the stomach, "Okay on three! One.. two... three!" Mrs. Adson said and the four began to pull in opposite directions of each other, Lash was determined to see Zack dead, and everyone who wasn't helping could see the killer's intent in his cold eyes, after five attempts the four managed to get Lash off of Zack and Nevau quickly got Lash into a headlock before Lash could have another attempt to attack Zack again, Lash struggled almost like a feral animal before finally calming down but he still gave Zack an angry death glare that was full of malice, rage and the desire to see him dead, "Thanks losers! I guess I o---" Zack was cut off when Zade punched him in the face and grabbed him by the back of his school's shirt's collar and began dragging him away, "Mrs. Adson and Mr. Argon can you please come with me and I'll tell you what happened!" Zade said to the teachers, the two teachers followed Zade around the corner and were soon out of sight.

Nevau still having Lash in a headlock looked around and saw everyone gossiping to each other on what just happened, "HEY THIS ISN'T A FUCKING SHOW!!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!" Nevau yelled at the unwanted students who decided to stick around, everyone ran in all directions like frightened sheep and once they were out of sight and earshot, Nevau took Lash outside and released him from the headlock.

'Its a good thing that Zade took both teachers with him, they'll probably just make Lash's temper worse!' Nevau said to himself, he then turned to see Lash sitting on the bench where the group usually sat, it looked like he had calmed down a bit but he was still breathing heavily, "Hey Lash can I give you some advice?" Nevau asked his friend, Lash silently nodded in response, "One day me and Zade will probably regret stopping you from killing Zack! But if he or any one else keep annoying you to the point that you might attack them, keep calm and keep saying this over and over; They're not worth it! They're just preschoolers in teenage bodies" Nevau said, "Okay..." was all Lash said, Neavu smile faintly and patted Lash on the right shoulder. 

Soon after Zade returned, he told the two that Lash would not get expelled from school and that Zack should stay away from him, however the three knew that Zack was the type of person who would never listen to advice that might just save his life or learn in general.

Two years passed and Zack was expelled from Queen Elizabeth College, for trying to do drugs behind the music room, he was spotted by the music teacher and was sent to the office and was expelled by the principle, when Lash learned of this he was delighted, and when he got home he did a little dance, however on some days when Lash walked to school with Eleana, Zack would pass by him and say his in the stupid fashion, but Lash had headphones in so he never hears it. 

It didn't help that in year ten a year before Zack was kicked out, when Eleana came to Queen Elizabeth College(Much to Lash opposing against this and suggesting she went to either Highbury high school or Girls' high) and the same year that the group meet Zyker and Lucas(A friend who left school after a year and got himself a paying job), it was also the same year that Zyker got his crush on Eleana, Zack tried to sexually harass Eleana, he would of succeed too if nearly all the girls didn't see this and attacked him and Lash only learned of this after the school day from one of the girls, after that he was suspended for two weeks, despite all this Lash knew that Zack would wind up dead soon enough if not by him, then by either getting mixed up in a bad crowd or getting mugged.

Back to present time, Lash stood in one of the destroyed buildings, Lash had repressed all his memories of his last five years at Queen Elizabeth College and despite Shade's smile reminding him of Zack, Lash did not attack Shade, then a thought came to Lash and at that moment he heard his sister's voice smacking him back into reality.

"Hello? Lash are you awake?" Eleana asked waving her hand in front of Lash's face, "Huh...!? Oh! Sorry I was just lost in thought" Lash said, "Well nothing new there" Lyra said, "Uh! Hey where did Shade and that man went?" Lash asked, "They left a little while, Zade asked what they were going to do with those metallic orbs and the masked man said that he was going to place them in his clan's vault and disappeared, and Shade left soon without saying anything, Lyra explained to Lash, "Personally I don't want to ever meet up with him" Zyker said crossing his arms, "Well anyway let's leave this place is giving me the creeps!" Nevau said, "Hey guys I had a strange thought" Lash said. 

Everyone stopped walking and turned around to hear what Lash had to say, "What is it?" Zade asked, "Well this might seem either crazy or stupid, but do you guys think that we might not be the only ones who were sent here?" Lash asked, everyone thought about Lash's question for awhile before shrugging their shoulders, "Probably dude" Nevau said, "Well let's go, before one of the bodies goes zombie on us!" Lash joked with a smile, and with that the six left Allure town and continued their journey.


	7. Shade vs. Bargo the mighty

Eleana awoke in the middle of the night, she left her tent and sat down on one of the logs that Zade and Zyker brought to the camp, the flames of the campfire slowly dying but was giving enough heat to keep her warm, Eleana was wearing her light blue Pajamas, with her Lace-up boots on and her gloves and her hair pin, Eleana sighed as she looked up at the starry night sky, it had been a week since she and the others arrived on Arcadia, Eleana peered over her shoulder to see Lash walking up and sitting down next to her.

He was wearing a black singlet with an evil looking clown on it, his blue jeans held up by a brown belt, and black leather shoes, his hair wasn't tied up and a lock of dark blonde hair overlapped his right shoulder, "Can't sleep?" he asked, "No" Eleana replied, "Same goes for me as well" Lash said, the two sat in silence just looking at the dying embers of the camp fire, "Do you miss home?" Eleana asked, Lash remained silent for a while before answering, "No!" Lash said, "Well what about our family?" Eleana asked, "Yeah... I miss them" Lash said, "Well the only person of our family I don't miss is that cousin of ours; Matthew!" Eleana said, "Yeah that good for nothing cousin of ours, he drives me nuts sometimes I just wanted to choke the life out of him and watched him squirm as I did so!" Lash said while choking an invisible neck, Eleana snapped her fingers in front of Lash's face snapping him out of his little trance.

"Sorry" Lash apologized, "Well anyway let's go back to bed, or else Zade and Nevau are going to have trouble waking us up!" Lash joked, the two laughed for a bit before heading back to their tents, in the morning the group woke up and Nevau made everyone breakfast, while eating breakfast they discussed on their next destination on where to find Mandy's son and after they had breakfast they were off to the next town.

Elsewhere on the outskirts of Mekara village, Shade dashed through the trees he had received a new contract from a client from Mekara village requesting him to take out a gang of bandits that were troubling the villagers, "Great... I'm taking on the Crimson Wolf Bandits! Well at least it's not the Lightning Fox Gang!" Shade mumbled to himself, the Crimson Wolf Bandits were one of the most notorious and dangerous bandit gangs to exist and were rivals to the Lightning Fox gang.

'I'm going to have one hell of a time!' Shade said as he reached into his right pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with the details of his contract, 'Let's see here...I'm supposed to kill every member of the bandit camp near the village and bring the head of the leader to the client!' Shade said as he read the paper, he then put the paper back into his right pocket and held out his right hand, a part of his scarf then wrapped around it and unwrapped to reveal his metal baseball bat, "Alright no point holding back!" Shade said, his speed then increased and he took off faster than a cheater. 

He arrived at the bandit's camp and hid in the shadows of the trees trying to stay out of their line of sight, he could hear the drunken laughter in the distance no doubt that they were celebrating something, 'By the sounds of it there are three just ahead of me and the rest must be further ahead, however I need to make sure of the numbers of bandits that I'm dealing with!' Shade said to himself his voice no more than a whisper he then jumped to the next tree and round to find the main part of the camp and where he would find his target.

At last Shade had found a tree that would give him insight on the main part of the camp and there he saw the leader, 'Target found!' Shade said to himself, the leader of the encampment was a big man he wore the Crimson Wolf uniform which consist of a crimson red tunic shirt with a blood red stash wrap around the gut, black slops, crimson red boot, black leather gloves and a blood red mask witched covered the upper part of his face, his lower half of his face was a rough ugly mug of a face with yellowish sharp teeth, he was a chubby man and Shade thought it was a miracle that someone like him was a leader of the bandits, he had long claw like fingernail, and had stink marks on him.

Shade watched and listen, 'Maybe... It's best to wait till they drink themselves stupid then I can strike! But for now I'm just going to bide my time!' Shade said watching in the distance he then saw the leader beckoned a girl forward to him, Shade thought that she was the only girl there and saw that she was also a member, the woman had long hot pink hair that reached to her waist, a busty chest, she wore the crimson wolf uniform, but the sleeves of the shirt were cut to the shoulders, a blood red stash tied around her stomach, black slopes, crimson red boots, black gloves and she wore a crimson red mask that covered her entire face. 

As he watched he saw the leader who was probably drunk off his mind try and make sexual advances to the female member, and when she slapped him he tried to attack her only for the woman to pin him to the ground and hold a katana with two blades attached to the hilt to his big fat throat, after a while the woman left on a dire wolf with the leader cussing to himself and the other members just laughing at him.

'Well that's been mildly entertaining' Shade said reaching into his left pocket and pulling out three shurikens and threw them at the three members near one of the entrances killing them almost immediately, when the other members heard their cries they just shrugged it off as if they passed out due to drinking too much, 'Three down!' Shade said dashing to the next tree, he returned to the tree that loomed over the main part of the camp. 

The leader was drinking an entire barrel of alcohol, and then smashing the empty barrel against a tree, and gave out a loud booming laugh as alcohol escaped his mouth, Shade felt disgusted at the giant pig of a man and he could see that the other members felt the same way, 'Well no time dilly dallying time to complete this mission!' Shade said reaching into his pocket and throwing three more shurikens, they struck his intended targets and they died almost immediately, the rest of the members saw the three drop dead and begun looking around for the culprit. 

Shade held out his weapon, "Change form!" Shade muttered, as he said the word his weapon appearance changed slightly, it remained as a metal baseball bat but it grew spikes on the main part, "COME OUT COWARD AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!!!" the leader's voice boomed through the camp, Shade held out his left hand and whispered the words; Shadow sphere, he then fired six purplish spheres witched hit every member except the leader killing them, "WHERE ARE YOU COWARD!!! DO YOU NOT FACE BARGO THE MIGHTY IN COMBAT!!!" Bargo boomed not caring that his fellow Crimson Wolf Bandits kinsmen now laid dead, 'Well no point keeping the giant pig waiting!' Shade said leaping out of his hiding place and landing two meters away from Bargo.

"SO YOU ARE THE WORM THAT IS CHALLENGING THE CRIMSON WOLF BANDITS!!!" Bargo roared, Shade gave a cheeky smile and shrugged his shoulders, "I could be!" he said cheekily, Bargo gave a grunt of anger and then charged towards Shade, Shade leaped out of the way and kicked Bargo in the back of the head causing him to land on his face, Bargo gave another angry grunt before getting back on his feet, "YOU...I WILL CRUSH YOU!!! I WILL GRIND YOU BONES TO DUST!!! AND I WILL RIP OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND FEST ON THEM!!!" Bargo roared his body morphed his shirt ripped and revealed brown fur, his hands changed into muscular claws, his mask torn of and revealed a bear head with yellow beady eyes staring at Shade with malice, his stomach became firm and muscular.

"Wow guess you're not a disgusting pig after all, you're a disgusting bear!" Shade said, "SHUT YOUR MOUTH WORM AND PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Bargo roared getting down on all fours and began charging at Shade, Shade leaped into the air and brought his leg crashing down on Bargo's forehead, and before he landed on the ground, Bargo gripped his right arm which held his weapon and twisted it until a sickening crack was heard, Shade let out a cry of pain before holding out his left hand to Bargo's stomach and firing a Shadow sphere, Bargo released his hold on Shade and began gasping for air, Shade tore of his right arm and ripped a right arm off one of the dead bandit and attaching his to the place of where his right arm use to be.

"Still haven't gotten the hang of regeneration yet!" Shade said testing the movements of his new arm they were fine, Shade could see that the arm had scars and a tattoo of a wolf with a scar on its right eye, "CRUSH!!! KILL!!! I WILL CRUSH YOU UNTIL THERE NO BREATH LEFT IN YOUR MANGLED CORPSE!!!" Bargo roared regaining his breath and charging at Shade once more, Shade having enough and wanting the job done Shade quickly held out his right hand and fired a purplish disk of energy toward Bargo, and slicing his head clean off, Bargo's headless body twitched for a for a bit before collapsing to the ground, giving a sigh of relief, Shade walked up to Bargo's lifeless head which had reverted to its human form and grabbed it by the hair and placed it into a leather sack. 

"Whelp time to show this ugly mug to my client!" Shade said dashing off back to Mekara village, soon after he left a pink haired woman wearing the Crimson Wolf uniform emerged from the shadows, "Hmm that bounty hunter seems to have a scent of a scent of a human male lingering off him!" the woman said, "Time to find the source of that scent!" The woman smiled behind her mask, before returning to her dire wolf and taking off to the distance.

Elsewhere an old fortune teller circled her hands around her crystal ball as a teen watched with his arms folded waiting for the results of his future and to satisfy his curiosity, the woman then showed a protection of the teen fighting someone who controlled fire and the teen made sure to memorize the boy that was fighting even after it showed the teen collapsed on the ground unconscious, the teen then paid the fortune teller and left.


	8. Were-wolves and the mysterious girl

Lash sat on the fountain in the middle of Valkarky town as he waited for his friends to return, the others had gone shopping mainly to restock and Zade went to ask about Mandy's son, "Man I'm bored!" Lash sighed and closed his eyes and took a nap.

"So far no one has seen or meet Mandy's son" Zade said as he and Eleana walked down the streets of Valkarky, "Yeah" Eleana replied, Zade pulled the picture out from his right pocket and looked at it, before Lash, Nevau and Zade had left Mandy's house on the first day that they had arrived, Zade had asked Mandy what age her son was, "He's 18 years old by now" Mandy replied, even now the three found it hard to believe someone as tall as him and who looked as if they were in their thirties was 18 years old.

"This might be harder than I originally thought" Zade muttered to himself, Zade and Eleana walked in silence, "Hey Zade" Eleana said breaking the silence, "Yeah" Zade replied, "Where is everyone?" Eleana asked as she looked around but saw no one on the streets, Zade looked around as well and saw that no one was around, the two began to walk faster as soon as they had heard animal like growls, which soon turned into sprinting when the growls were close behind them, Zade and Eleana soon bumped into Lyra and Zyker and Nevau was there too.

"You guys okay?" Nevau asked looking around to see nothing, "*Huff*Yeah...*Huff*we're...*Puff* fine!" Eleana replied as she breathed heavily trying to regain her breath, "Well here" Zyker reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of ginger beer and a can L&P, he gave the ginger beer to Zade and the L&P to Eleana, "Soda?" Eleana asked opening up the can and drinking the soda greedily, "Yeah we were surprise as you are" Lyra said, suddenly the five heard animal-like growls and when they turned around they saw...

Lash was asleep on the fountain tree, he place his coat into his bag and used it as a pillow and tilted his beanie to cover his eyes from the sun he must of been their for at least an hour, he then felt someone's presence and tilted his beanie a bit for his right eye to see who it was, hew saw a badly injured Nevau looming over him, and got up in a rush, "What happened to you?!" Lash asked shocked, "Follow...me!" Nevau said while breathing heavily, Lash grabbed his bag and followed Nevau to a medical center.

When they arrived they went into a room where he saw a badly injured Eleana laying in one of the beds, she had a red line running from the left side of her forehead to her right cheek,, "Eleana! Nevau what happened, where's Zade,Lyra and Zyker!!!" Lash asked shaking Nevau by the collar, "Stop shaking me and I'll explain!" Nevau said, Lash released his hold on Nevau's collar and he cleared his throat, and took a deep breath, "Well me, Zyker and Lyra bumped into Zade and Eleana after returning from the store, they were running from something and then we heard animal-like growling and when we turned around we saw this huge wolf looking creature it attacked us, it gave your sister that scar, took a nibble on me and kidnapped Zade, Lyra and Zyker after knocking them out, and soon after it left that bounty hunter guy showed up and took us here and told me to go and fetch you!" Nevau exhaled after his explanation, "Wolf-like creature...what like a were wolf?" Lash asked, "I guess so" Nevau said, "Hang on... bounty hunter guy... oh no! don't tell its who I think it is!" Lash said when he thought about what Nevau said about a bounty hunter guy, "Oooooooooh yes!" Nevau replied.

Soon after he replied, Shade walked into the room, Lash immediately noticed his right arm was different, it had four scars on the elbow, wrist, shoulder and back part of the hand and on the shoulder was a tattoo of a crimson red wolf with what looked like a scar on its right eye, "Hey what's up bud!" Shade greeted Lash, Lash just growled in response, "Geez no manners at all" Shade said scratching his chin, "Well I got him, so what do you want?" Nevau asked Shade, "Well...first I should probably explain what attacked you and kidnapped the others" Shade said, "What attacked you was a were wolf!" Shade said, Lash and Nevau looked at each other and shrug their shoulders, "But unlike other were wolves this one couldn't tell the different to its human sense and beast sense so it lost control, but lucky I found its hideout!" Shade said, "Wait why a were-wolf be in town?" Nevau asked, Shade just shrugged his shoulders, "Well we should probably go save them now!" Lash said, "We?" Shade asked, "Mmhm, me and Lash are coming with you to save our friends and Zade!" Nevau said, Shade sighed seeing as there was probably no point trying to change their minds, Lash placed his bag down next to Nevau's, took his beanie off and placed it next Eleana, "Let's go!" Lash said.

Soon the three were in forest in the outskirts of Valkarky, Shade dashed in a quick speed while Lash and Nevau were at his heels trying their best to keep up, "Man... he's... fast!" Nevau said in between breaths, "Yeah...!" Lash replied.

Eventually the three reached a small cave opening, "We're here!" Shade said pointing to the cave opening, Lash and Nevau took a moment to catch their breaths, "I... hate... exercise!" Lash moaned, "So how are we suppose to rescue our friends without the were wolf knowing we're here?" Nevau asked, "That's the thing! I don't!" Shade said, "Why?" Nevau asked, "Because Were-wolves are of the K-9 family it already knows that we're here by our scent!" Shade explained, "Right how did I forget that!" Nevau said rolling his eyes, Lash shrugged his shoulders in response, without any hesitation the three walked into the cave. 

Keeping alert as they walked through the cave, until they reached the very end of the cave, which looked like a chamber that might belonged to a cave bear, there they saw Lyra, Zade and Zyker chained to the wall(Zade was chained upside down), "COME OUT NO POINT HIDING!" Shade yelled his voice echoing through the cave with Lash and Nevau telling him to be quiet. 

Everything was quiet until they heard snickers coming from the ceiling, four wolf-like men dropped from the ceiling, each wore a dark green trench coat, no shirt, black jeans, black cuff boots and black leather gloves, and each had the appearance of a wolf with one's fur being a light brown, another being silvery blue, the other a crimson red, and another being a dark grey.

One step forward, his face had six scars as well as his clothes been more tattered that the others and had dark grey fur, Lash and Nevau assumed that he was the alpha of the group, the were-wolf spoke in a deep but rough sounding voice, "Look my brothers we have two fresh meat as well as spoiled meat!" the wolf-man spoke, "What does he mean by spoiled meat?" Nevau asked, "I think he means you" Lash replied, "Why?" Nevau asked, "I guess they don't like how you taste" Lash said, "Oh... thank god" Nevau said with a sigh of relief, "Don't be relived yet Nevau they'll still kill you and feed your bodies to the maggots" Shade said, "Are you here to save these three are you?" the alpha were-wolf asked, "Why yes!' Shade replied, "Hehehe...well then the only way you'll ever save them will be having to kill all four of us!" the alpha wolf said.

Then after he spoke all four were-wolves leaped into the air, "I'll take the alpha and the one next to him!" Shade said to Lash and Nevau before leaping into the and spin kicked the scar face wolf-man in the face and whacking the other wolf-man on the temple with his metal bat, Lash jump backwards to avoid the attack of his enemy and drew his sword; Skoll and swung at the wolf-man's torso, the wolf-man mange to avoid the attack and brought a its claws slashing down, Lash could barely avoid it and his left eye slashed, Lash cried in pain as thick crimson red blood flowed down the his left part of his forehead obscuring his left eye and dripping off his chin, Nevau tackled the were-wolf and gave Lash some bandages which Lash tied around his left eye.

the were-wolf that Nevau tackled licked the blood off its claws "Hmm such tasty blood, in fact it tastes almost the same as that big chested girl with the blonde hair not to mention your scent smell almost the same as hers!" the were-wolf said to Lash, "Big chested girl...Eleana! so your the bastard that hurt my sister!" Lash said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" the were-wolf said with a wolfish grin, "Hey! Shade you should get the others out of here" Nevau, "Me!? What about you guys?" Shade asked Nevau, Just unchain Zade and take Lyra and Zyker to safety" Nevau replied, Shade sighed in annoyance and unchained Zade, who was conscious the whole time and helped him up, and then unchained Lyra and Zyker, and where do you think you're going?" the alpha were-wolf asked, but before he could receive and answer Nevau kicked the alpha were-wolf with enough force to send him into the rocky wall of the chamber, "Just go Shade we'll cover you!" Zade said pulling out his sword, "R-right" Shade and dashed towards the entrance of the cave with Lyra and Zyker on his shoulder and as Lash, Nevau and Shade protected him.

"Well now that's it four on one how about we introduce ourselves, My name is Slake and I'm the leader of these four!" the alpha were-introduced himself, "I'm Ba'go" the crimson red fur were-wolf introduced himself, "Ga-rock" the light brown fur were-wolf introduced himself, "And I'm Ne'ron" the silvery blue fur were-wolf introduced himself, Lash and Zade introduced themselves to the were-wolves and then readied themselves as the were-wolves charged at them.

Lash, Nevau and Zade blocked each of Slake's attacks, the other three laid dead in a pool of their own blood after being killed by the three, but were having trouble with Slake, Slake knocked Lash's sword out of his hands which disappeared before it hit the ground and punched Lash so hard in the stomach that it knocked the air out of Lash's lungs, Slake then grab Lash by the right ankle and threw him into a nearby wall, knocking him out, Zade and Nevau rushed Slake on both sides only for Slake to to trip them over and punched them both so hard that it knocked the breathe out of the two, "Now stay there while I finish off your friend!" Slake said as he walked towards Lash and pulled out a curved sword and when he reached the unconscious Lash, raised his sword high in the air ready to plunge it through the heart only to be stopped a rock suddenly flying the air, Slake avoided it with the only damage he took from the rock was it grazing his left cheek, he then turned his head along with Zade and Nevau towards the entrance to the chamber of the cave to see a girl standing there.

The girl was round about Lash's age, she had long hot pink hair that reached to her waist, she had pretty face with no make-up on, leaf green eyes, she wore a grey zip-up hoodie, a blue skirt, black lace-up boots, and purple wrist-gloves, and had slightly tanned skin.

"Who are you?" Slake asked the girl, the girl ignored the Slake's question and pushed him to the far left of the chamber without touching him and walked up to Lash and crouched down besides him, "Who are you?" Nevau asked, "Just someone who came to help" the girl said as she walked up to where Nevau and Zade were with Lash in her arms, "Can you two stand?" she asked, "Y-yeah" Nevau replied as him and Zade got back up to their feet, "Good! Let's get out of here, it's going to take that wolf awhile to get out of the crater" the girl said, "And how can we trust you?" Zade, "You just need to trust me" the girl, Nevau and Zade looked at each and sighed, "Alright we'll trust you for now" Nevau said and him and Zade took Lash and ran towards the entrance, with the girl throwing a smoke bomb behind her to throw Slake off just in case and followed the two out of the cave.

Lash awoke to find himself in one of the medical beds in Valkarky town, How did I get here?" Lash asked himself as he looked around to find the bed he was in was right next to Eleana who was mumbling in her sleep, "Good to know she's fine" Lash said smiling, he then got out of the bed and walked out of the room and into a balcony.

Lash looked up at the sky to see it was nighttime, "How did I get out of that cave? All I was Slake grabbing me by the ankle and then throwing me into a wall and everything went black... then I found myself in that forest clearing again but this time I was talking to the other warg; Hati who is the brother of Skoll and the warg that chases the sun!" Lash muttered to himself, "Good to see you up and about!" a female voice said behind Lash, Lash quickly turned around to see a pink haired girl leaning against the glass door.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you" the girl said, "Its okay... w-who are you anyway?" Lash asked feeling himself slowly go quiet, "I'm Mystic Elysium! And I saved you and you two friend Nevau and Zade back at that cave" Mystic replied, "Thanks..." Lash said, "No problem, I just came across the cave and heard what sounded like fighting and saw one of your friends rush out of the cave, with carrying two people" Mystic said, "Anyway I don't know your name" Mystic said , "I'm... Lash Conrad Siegfried" Lash introduced himself, "Nice to meet you Lash" Mystic said as she walked closer to Lash, "Well I best be off" Mystic said, "I hope to see you again one day" Mystic smiled and gave Lash kiss on the cheek which caused his face to turn bright red, Mystic chuckled and left, Lash after awhile quickly shook his head and headed back inside and went to sleep.


	9. Fire, Ice and Earth

"Aaaaaah, that hot spring was nice and relaxing" Eleana said while stretching her arms, "Yeah got to admit Shade does know some good places to find to relax our muscles!" Nevau said, "Well he is a bounty hunter so wouldn't that mean he travels across the world?" Eleana asked, "Yeah good point" Nevau replied, it had been three days since the incident with the wolf-men, and Eleana now had a scar that ran from her left side of her forehead to the right cheek, while Lash now had a white jagged line that ran just above his left eyebrow and stopped just above his left cheek, but he could still see clearly with it.

"So where we heading next?" Zyker asked, "Well we'll soon be coming up to a forest know as Evergreen forest" Lyra said while looking at her map, after awhile the six agreed to have a short break and have some lunch while discussing about what to do next, Nevau began making lunch for everybody, Lash sat down and opened a can of coke and began drinking while staring off to the distance, Lash sighed as he finished his drink and placed the empty can into his bag, "Are you okay?" Eleana asked sitting down next to him, "Yeah! I'm fine, just thinking about something" Lash said, "Are you thinking about that girl?" Eleana asked, "W-what!? No!" Lash replied hastily while his turned bright red, Eleana giggled at her brother's reaction, "Well I'm going to help Zade with the tables" Eleana said getting up and walking to where Zade was, "Damn she knows me well at times!" Lash said with a small smile on his face, after the event with the were-wolves, Lash, Nevau and Zade were saved by a pink haired girl called Mystic, but one thing still loomed in his mind, how did she find him, it couldn't off been a coincidence that she would be walking nearby the same cave where the three and Slake were fighting, "Oh well maybe I should ask her the next time we meet" Lash sighed, after hearing Nevau shout lunch was ready Lash got up and walked towards Nevau and grabbed a sandwich.

In the distance stood two hooded men, both wore black coats that reached to their knees, black leather pants, black boots and black gloves, their faces were hidden by masks, "Is he the one we're looking for?" the man on the left said, his mask was a black and white theater mask, the white side being happy, while the black side was sad his voice was a shrill high pitch voice , "Yes, male with dark blonde hair tied up in a low pony tail,blue denim jeans, black leather shoes with laces, and black fingerless gloves, roughly around 188 cm (6'2") in height and 78 kg (172 lbs.) in weight" the man on the right said, his mask being a plain white featureless mask and his was a deep rough sounding voice, "Wait why are we after him again?" the theater masked man asked, "Hell if I knew!" the featureless masked man said, "Why does our boss tell us anything? Well aside from killing specific targets" the theater masked man asked, the featureless masked man just shrugged his shoulders, "So when do we strike?" the theater masked man asked, "When he is alone, that is when we strike my friend!" the featureless masked man replied.

After the six had lunch they continued walking, however Lash had the sudden suspicion that someone or something was following them, but every time he peered over his shoulder there was no one there, "Great! I'm getting paranoid again!" Lash muttered to himself with an annoyed expression on his face.

Lyra and Zyker began discussing something, while Zade and Nevau had begun arguing about something unimportant again, "Why do they always argue?" Eleana asked, "Maybe they're madly in love!" Lash replied which caused Nevau to throw a shoe at Lash's face, "GI-ARK!" Lash cried in pain, Eleana eyes widen with shock, "A-are you okay?" Eleana asked Lash, "Yeah... I'm fine!" Lash replied rubbing his face "We. Are. Not madly in love!" Nevau yelled at Lash angrily, Lash and Nevau glared at each other before bursting into laughter, "That still hurt though!" Lash said after the two had finished laughing, "If you two are done we should keep moving!" Lyra said with an annoyed expression on her face.

Soon it turned night and they set up camp had dinner and after having dinner everyone went to their tents, Lash found it hard to sleep he got fully dress but left his coat where it was and left his tent, once he was out side he saw Nevau and Zyker sitting near the campfire, "Couldn't sleep?" Nevau asked Lash, "Yeah! Same for you two?" Lash replied, Nevau and Zyker nodded, "Well I'm going for a walk!" Lash said walking off, "Don't go too far from the camp!" Nevau, "Yeah I know!" Lash said, "Huh where's Lash going?" Eleana asked leaving her tent while feeling a little drowsy, "He going for a walk" Nevau replied as his and Zyker's quickly face turned bright red when they looked at Eleana.

Eleana was wearing her pink stripe underwear, no socks or shoes and her shirt had a few button undone, Nevau and Zyker could see her navel and a bit of her chest, "What are you guys looking at?" Eleana asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked down to where they were staring and looked up, "What's wrong?" Eleana asked, "Eleana, it's nighttime and you came out barely wearing anything but you underwear and a slightly unbuttoned shirt? Aren't you cold?" Nevau asked, "No..." Eleana said, "Jeez you you're like your brother sometimes!" Nevau sighed, Nevau turned his head to see Zyker having a perverted smile on his face with a bit of drool and a red streak of blood coming out of his left nostril, Nevau sighed and smacked him in the back of the head, snapping him out of his fantasy, Eleana and Nevau looked at each other in silence, "Okay I'll get properly dressed sorry Nevau!" Eleana apologized, she turned around and walked back to her tent, Zyker's nose gushed out blood when he saw Eleana's butt and he collapsed on his back, "Eleana~!" Zyker mumbled to himself, Nevau sighed and looked up at the moon, "Your lucky Lash isn't here right now" Nevau said to Zyker.

Eleana left her tent again, but this time she was wearing her lime green skirt, her purple lace-up boots, her purple shoulder length finger-less gloves, her shirt was fully buttoned and had her hair pin, "That's better" Nevau said, with a smile, suddenly the three heard Lash scream in pain that awoke Zyker from his daydream but somehow did not awake Zade and Lyra from their sleep, "That was Lash's voice!" Eleana said leaping up to her feet, Zyker and Nevau got to their feet and began running to where the scream came from, "Eleana wait here we're going to help Lash, come and help us if you hear us scream or when that know it all-now nothing; Zade wakes up as well as Lyra!" Nevau explained, "Right!" Eleana nodded.

Lash found himself in a meadow with some daisy in it, the moonlight reflecting on a small pond that was nearby and the only sounds were the crickets chirping, he looked up at the moon, and reached his right hand out as if he was trying to grab, "It looks so similar to earth's moon!" Lash said placing his hand back into his pocket suddenly Lash felt a strange sensation that caused him to drop to his arms and knees and gripping his right forearm tightly, "What the hell is going on!?" Lash said in pain, once it finished Lash slowly got back onto his feet, he took a deep breath and sighed, "Kukukuku, Looks like he's alone now so we can kill him now right?" a shrill and high pitch voice said behind Lash, Lash quickly spun around to see who was behind him but there was no one there, then suddenly two masked hooded men appeared in front of Lash, "Yes my friend we can kill him now" the featureless masked man replied to his theater masked partner, "Who are you guys?" Lash asked, the two men didn't respond to Lash's question, they pulled out two knives and charged Lash from both sides, Lash jumped backwards to avoid their attack, but the theater masked man, dashed in front of Lash and swung his knives furiously, Lash kept jumping backwards in order to avoid the man's attacks, since being on Acadia and having to survive some animal and sometimes small bandit attacks Lash's reflexes improved quite a lot.

Lash glanced over his shoulder to see the featureless masked man coming in from behind but once he got near Lash, Lash suddenly jumped 5 feet into the air to avoid the attack, but before he could react the featureless masked man threw one of his knives at Lash and the knife buried itself into his right shoulder causing Lash to cry out in pain, Lash pulled the knife and dropped it to the ground, "Kukukuku! Your finished now boy!" the theater masked man said, then the two men charged towards Lash, Lash clenched his fist and teeth when suddenly two rocks flew past Lash's head and hit the men in the knees causing them to landed on their faces, Lash looked behind him to see Nevau and Zyker rushing towards him.

"Lash are you okay?" Nevau asked once him and Zyker reached Lash, "Kinda! If you count the knife wound in my right shoulder" Lash replied, "Looks like they are getting back up!" Zyker said, "Dammit I didn't expect his friends to interfere!" the theater masked man grunted, "Who care after we killed him, we would have killed his friends anyway" the featureless masked man said, the two men then charged towards Lash, Nevau and Zyker, the three avoided the attack and Lash attempted a spin kick on the theater masked man, when his right leg suddenly burst into flames as he kicked the man and sent him across the meadow, the flames on his leg vanished leaving a burnt mark on his jean's right legging, "What the smeg!?" Lash said shocked, "That was cool!" Nevau said with a whistle, "Nevau watch out!" Zyker shouted to Nevau, Nevau turned his head to see the featureless masked man running towards him Nevau avoided the man's attack and tried punching the man, but the masked man avoided the punch and Nevau's fist slammed onto the ground and then and jolt of earth was sent hurling upwards and hit the masked man in the gut, "Shit! How'd that happen?" Nevau asked, he stomped his foot onto the ground and another jolt of earth hurled upwards and hit the masked man in the back, "I wonder what I can do?" Zyker asked himself he aimed both his arm out and clenched his eye and blasted a ball of ice which froze the featureless masked man lower half, "OH! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!" the featureless masked man yelled, "I have ice powers!" Zyker said stunned, "I have earth!" Nevau said, "And I got fire!" Lash said.

There was a long silence before... "Sweet!" the three cried out in excitement, "Don't be so happy you three haven't won yet!" the theater masked man yelled out in anger, "Hey Cobalt let's show them our beast form!" the theater masked man called to his partner, Cobalt managed to break free of Zyker's ice and was able to maintain his lower half, "Yes I guess now that the tides have seem to change we can still change them back to our favor. And to think I'm allowing you Drix, of all people to order me around!" Cobalt said, the men took off their masks as well as their coats and shirts, Cobalt had a tough looking young man's face, with crystal blue eyes and light brown messy hair that reach to his shoulders, and a scar on his upper lip.

While Drix had wheat blonde buzz cut hair, white eyes, and a bloodthirsty smile, there was a sickening sound of flesh being torn and then eight spider-like legs emerged from Drix's back and landed onto the ground and lifted Drix up his leg three meters off the ground, his skin turned a grayish black and six tiny red eyes opened up, his lower jaw shifted and splat open with one sharp tooth on each side of the lower jaw, his fingers morphed into three claw like hands, and his stomach turned into a blood red under belly and tiny spikes emerged on his spider legs, arms and shoulders.

Cobalt skin turned in a dark slimy green, his slender appearance became muscular and his face shifted into that of an alligator, his hair disappeared from his head and his eyes turned a piercing yellow, his fingers turned into claws, a tail appeared and his feet changed into reptile feet, scales covering his body, and a yellow under belly.

"Kukukuku! What do you think of our beast forms?" Drix asked his voice a now low and raspy voice, Lash, Nevau and Zyker said nothing but just stare with shock and horror in their eyes, "Well now let's see if our transformation can put the battle back into our favor" Cobalt said his voice remaining the same, "I'll take the blonde and afro ones you get the emo hair cut one!" Drix said, Cobalt roared and leaped into the air and brought his right claw crashing down, Nevau managed to avoid the attack by jumping backwards and slammed his foot onto the ground and sent a chunk of earth hurling towards Cobalt, Cobalt smashed the chunk of earth and charged towards Nevau.

Drix charged towards Lash and Zyker, Zyker charged towards the spider-man but Drix caught his fist and threw Zyker into the pond, and spat a string of web which attached itself onto Lash's right wrist, "Okay! That is not where web comes out of!" Lash growl, "Does it matter your mine now boy!" Drix said, pulling the string of web back and dragging Lash to him, Lash struggled to pull his arm free of the web but to no avail, "Wait a minute... I can control fire so maybe... just maybe!" Lash said taking off his right glove and placing it into his pocket he then gripped the string with his right hand, and ignited his hand which burned the string of web, "W-what!? Oh... that's right, he can control fire!" Drix said slapping himself, Lash ran next to Zyker and helped him to his feet, "You alright?" Lash asked, "Yeah!" Zyker replied spitting out some water, "I have a plan on how to defeat this guy" Lash said he then whispered his plan into Zyker's ear.

"Hey! Spider-man come and get me!" Lash suddenly taunted to the spider-man, "With pleasure!" Drix grinned and charged towards Lash and stopped just in front of him, "Any last words?" Drix asked, "Yeah, ZYKER NOW!!!" Lash yelled, Drix turned his head to see Zyker fire a ball of ice towards, Drix then looked down to see that he was standing right in the pond and before he could even jump out the ball of ice hit and froze the water which in turn also froze Drix's legs, "Oh you got to be kidding me right now!" Drix mumbled with a worried tone, Lash took off his left glove and placed into his pocket with his right glove.

"Alright here it goes!" Lash said, he placed hand just apart from each which looked like he was holding an invisible ball, suddenly A tiny ball of fire appeared in the center of the hands, Lash then threw his hands into the air and parted them which caused the small ball of fire to become a massive fire ball which was roughly the size of a beach ball, Lash then threw it towards Drix, but missed him even though the two ere at point blank range.

Nevau was still fighting Cobalt when suddenly Cobalt put on a white coned hat, and a white handkerchief and began waving it, Nevau curiously turned his head to see what his enemy was looking and spun around in fright to see a giant fire ball coming straight towards him, the fire ball exploded with a massive boom.

"Whoops!" Lash said with a worried tone, Zyker lower jaw dropped to the ground after seeing what Lash had done, "OW! WHAT THE HELL LASH!!!" Nevau shouted his body covered with soot, "Sorry... I guessed I missed!" Lash replied while scratching the back of his head, "YOU MISSED!? YOU'RE ARE AT POINT BLANK RANGE AWAY FROM THAT SPIDER-GUY AND YOU MISSED!!!" Nevau yelled.

"Well let's try that again!" Lash said he recreated the massive fire, by placing his hands together as if he was holding an invisible ball, threw them into the air and separate them so the small ball of fire turned into the massive fireball and threw it at Drix with one hand, this time he didn't miss and the fire ball engulfed Drix, Drix screamed out in pain as his body burned away into a crisp and then into ashes which were then scattered into the wind, "One down one two go!" Zyker said with a smile, Lash and Zyker rushed towards Nevau and three managed to take out Cobalt, Lash distracted him by throw small fire ball, while Nevau managed to create a pillar of earth which took Cobalt by surprise and threw him into the air and Zyker threw a large ball of Ice which froze Cobalt's entire body and shattered when he hit the ground, Lash, Nevau and Zyker then headed back to camp.

"Are you three okay?" Eleana asked, "Yeah! We're fine" Lash said with a reassuring smile, "Then what about that wound?" Eleana asked pointing at the knife-like wound on Lash's right shoulder, "It's just... a flesh wound" Lash said while his eyes darted from side to side, "So what happened?" Eleana asked, "It's a long story that I think we should tell everyone one when they wake up!" Nevau said still covered in soot.

In the morning, Nevau explained what happened last night, and the three demonstrated their new found abilities, "Neat!" Zade said, "But Lash are you sure we shouldn't do anything about you wound apart from putting bandages around it?" Lyra asked, "I said it is just a flesh wound! Nothing to worry about" Lash replied, "Alright... but if it gets an infection, then it is not my problem!" Lyra said, "Well anyway let's get a move on!" Zade said getting up, the six packed up everything and began walking down the path once again.

In a small woodland area, sitting a medium size bolder, sat a the same teen who had gotten his fortune read, he wore a dark blue and white sleeveless shirt with collar up, ski goggles, dark blue finger-less gloves with a lightning bolt on the back palm, orange jeans, black cuff boots with metallic looking bracelets for cuffs, he had orange eyes, light blonde spiky hair that reached to his tail bone and was tied up in a low ponytail by an orange hair band and strand of hair stick outwards, the teen threw a skull into the air and caught it over and over again.

"Boss!" a female's voice called to him, the teen tilted his head slightly to see a woman walking towards him, the woman had dark tanned skin, black hair tied up in a bun, an eyepatch covering her left eye and a scar on her right cheek, dark brown eyes, pouty lips, she wore a metal breastplate, black jeans with the right legging cut out up to her right knee, and black boot.

"The two you sent to find and kill the boy have been reported dead!" the woman said, "So those two idiots finally bit the dust!" the teen said bitterly , "Yes! But they did at least find the boy and learned his name!" the woman said, "And his name is?" the teen asked, "Lash, sir!" the woman said, "Lash huh! What an odd to give someone... how did you find this out?" the teen asked, "I sent a scout to keep an eye on Cobalt and Drix and he has reported back!" the woman said, the teen caught the skull and crushed it sending shards of the skull falling to the ground, "Linda!" the teen said standing up on the bolder, "Yes sir!" Linda replied, "Where is he heading?" the teen asked, "He's heading to Evergreen sir, but I also have been information that the Crimson Wolf Bandits are heading in that direction as well" Linda replied, "Tell the others we're heading to Evergreen!" the teen said, "Yes sir!" Linda said rushing off back in the direction she came from, "Watch out Lash, because the leader of Lightning Fox gang is coming for you!" the teen said with a toothy grin.


	10. The calm before the storm

"Where is everyone?" Nevau asked looking around the streets of Miokara a town that was just a twenty meters away from Evergreen forest, however the town looked deserted, not one person; man, woman or child walked the streets, "Did the same thing that happen back at Allure happen here?" Eleana asked cowering behind her brother, "No!" a familiar voice called out to them, the group looked in the direction of where the voice came from and saw Shade walking towards them, "Hey what's up" Shade said once he reached the group, the silver parts of his hair shined in the morning sun, but despite having a friendly smile on his face his eyes looked troubled, "What's wrong?" Nevau asked, "Come with me and I'll explain!" Shade said, "Where to?" Eleana asked, "I have an acquaintance staying here and his house is just up ahead!" Shade replied.

The group followed Shade down the streets and up to a brown two-story house, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key and inserted it into the keyhole turned and opened the door he walked in and held the door open as the six walked in and closed it. 

They then walked into the kitchen, "Hey old man! I'm back and I brought some company!" Shade called through the house but received no answer "Where did he go?" Shade sighed, Eleana face turned red as she felt her skirt being lifted up, "I'm right behind you lot!" an older man's voice said behind everyone, the group spun around in fright while Lash jumped in a crane fighting pose, to see a man with a bald head, a scar on his right eyes, hazel eyes, a brown beard, he wore no shirt but instead wore a pink Hawaiian shirt with green flowers on it, he had bandages wrapped around his abdomen, he wore black shorts that reached to his knees with a blue stash wrapped around his waist and wore brown sandals.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you lot" the man said as he scratched his beard, "So is this your acquaintance Shade?" Lyra asked Shade, "Yup everyone met Norman, and Lash get out of that fighting pose" Shade said introducing the group. 

"Uncle who is it?" a female asked as she walked into the kitchen with some paper bags, the woman had wavy brunette hair, hazel eye hidden behind glasses, a pretty face, she wore a blue t-shirt underneath a unbuttoned jersey, a long skirt that reached to her ankles, and black shoes, she looked around 17 years old.

The girl looked at the group, "And this is his niece Elizabeth" Shade introduced everyone to Elizabeth, "Anyway who are these people Shade?" Norman asked, the group introduced themselves one by one except that Nevau had introduce Lash who had went quiet, "Nice to meet you all!" Norman said scratching his beard with a smile, "Anyway Shade what's going on here?" Lyra asked Shade, "Sit down and I'll tell you and your friends!" Norman said.

Everyone sat down at the kitchen table and Norman cleared his throat, "Well Shade has told me that you six are not from here, and I can tell because of your scent gives it off. But anyway the reason why everybody in this town are cooped up in their houses is because there are rumors that two of the most feared bandit gangs are heading in this direction the Crimson Wolf Bandits and the Lightning Fox Gang!" Norman explained, "Well I guess if this world's two most known bandit gangs are heading in this direction it would only be natural if everyone was scared!" Lyra said, "But where are the guards?" Eleana asked, "Cowering in fear" Elizabeth replied, "So how far away are they?" Lyra asked, "Who knows, but from what the rumors say they should be here by tomorrow or the day after!" Norman said, "Well maybe we should fight them!" Nevau said, "Don't be ridiculous Nevau, we can't possibly stand up to a large group of bandits!" Eleana said, "Come on me, Lash and Zyker got powers now!" Nevau grinned, "Still doesn't mean we won't be killed!" Lash said, "Well anyway mind if we stay here and help out with the bandit problem?" Nevau asked, ignoring what Eleana and Lash had said, the two just sighed in annoyance, "Now I know how Lash feel at time" Eleana muttered, "Alright but if you're going up against these bandits you're going to need to train yourselves!" Norman said.

Later that day when the sun was beginning to set, "Oh... god...that...was...intense!" Nevau said as sweat dripping from his face after Norman agreed to allow the six to stay at his house the six began to train non-stop, and while they were training Eleana long sword changed into a chain sickle she called Raven slash, sweat was dripping from her face, and she was breathing heavily, "Eleana why don't take a break?" Zyker asked, "No... I'm fine" Eleana said with a smile.

She wasn't the only one who was training hard, Lash was pushing his body to its limits as he practice his new found powers as well as training with his new sword Hati along with his other sword Skoll, Eleana and Zyker could see anger on his face but wasn't just Lash who looked angry, Zade swung his broadsword furiously at the training dummy Norman had set up, his blue mask had sweat marks on it, "Man are they angry" Shade said bringing Eleana and Zyker cold glasses of fizzy drinks with ice cubes in them and place them down on a table, "Well Lash is technically practicing his powers so a calm face would be weird and Zade just pissed that he has to follow an order from Nevau" Zyker answered, "Ah!" Shade replied, after awhile Lash and Zade collapse to the ground from exhaustion, "Well I guess that's enough training for now" Shade said, Shade and Zyker helped Lash and Zade inside and sat them down at the table.

"Thanks" Lash said, soon Elizabeth came into the kitchen with two bath towels, "Hey Eleana do you want to take bath with me?" Elizabeth asked, Eleana sniffed her armpits and nodded, the two girls walked off to the bathroom, Zyker (Who was picturing Eleana naked),Nevau(who just walked into the room and heard what Elizabeth said) and Shade(Who was curious if Eleana's chest was still the real thing) got a perverted idea in their heads, and each had a perverted smile on their faces, Lash, Lyra and Zade knew what those three were think but Lash and Zade were too tired to move a muscle to try and stop them, "Idiots" Lyra sighed to herself.

Outside the bathroom door, the three; Zyker, Nevau and Shade were pressing their ears against the door listening to what was happening, they hear the bathwater stop running, "My Eleana your chest is actually that big, I thought you were just wearing pads! Wow they even feel real!" Elizabeth said sounding a bit jealous, 'So they are real' Shade thought to himself.

"How are you two feeling?" Lyra asked the two, "Well my muscles are getting better and I don't feel as tired as did earlier" Lash replied sitting up properly, "Yeah that was a work of some herbs that girl gave to me, what was her name again?" Lyra asked, "Mystic" Lash replied, "Yeah, she told me if we're were traveling a lot then it would be best to buy some herbs" Lyra said, Zade had also drunken some of the grounded herbs and had decided to retire early for a bit, "So either tomorrow or the next day, the bandits will arrive" Lash said, "Yeah and due to Nevau's idiocy we'll have to fight them!" Lyra said, the two let out a sigh of annoyance. 

The three still had their ears pressed against the door as they listen to the conversation between Eleana and Elizabeth, Zade walked passed and sighed as he shook his head in disapproval, then suddenly, "WAAAH!!!" Eleana scream and a loud thud was heard, "Eleana! Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, "Ow it hurts!" Eleana groaned, "Whoa!" Elizabeth yelled and then landed on something soft, Shade, Zyker and Nevau's face went red and blood began leaking out of their nostrils, "Anyway... Eleana how come your brother doesn't talk much?" Elizabeth asked, "He's just shy at times and most of time he really doesn't know what to say" Eleana replied, "Hang on... I hear something" Elizabeth said and suddenly the door opened up and the three fell face first into the marble floor of the bathroom, when they looked up and saw Elizabeth with a glare on her face, both Elizabeth and Eleana had towels wrapped around them, when the three boys tried getting away Elizabeth grabbed them by the collars and dragged them into the bathroom and closed the door behind them, soon after painful cries of the boys echoed through the house.

"Serves them right!" Lyra said her face not looking any bit surprised by the three boys punishment, Lash nodded his head in agreement as the two continued play their card game.

soon Norman returned home with a bag full of groceries and when he went into the kitchen he saw Zyker, Shade and Nevau were bandaged up, "What happened to you three?" he asked, "They fell down the stairs uncle" Elizabeth said sweetly, "At the same time?" Norman asked, "Yup! We're kinda clumsy!" Nevau said with worried smile on his face, "What did I miss while I was gone?" Norman muttered to himself, Norman then made everybody dinner and once they were finished and once Lash and Eleana had done the dishes, everyone retired to their rooms, each of them had concerns of the fight that was fast approaching.


	11. The fight begins

It was midnight and Lash sat on his bed in his temporary room, he couldn't sleep as his mind keep drifting to the fight that he and the other have to partake in due to Nevau's idiocy, the bandits would arrive either today at dawn or the next day, Lash wore his black singlet which had an evil looking clown on it and red checkered pajama pants. 

Lash sighed, despite the cold air right now, he didn't feel cold in fact he managed to use his powers to keep himself warm, Lash took off his pajama pants and put on his jeans with his belt along with his gloves and beanie, he then headed to the door.

He left his room and headed down stairs, and when entered the kitchen where he saw Norman sitting at the table, "Can't sleep?" Norman asked, Lash nodded, "Can't blame you, sometimes the thought of fighting can make anyone worried" Norman said, Lash sighed, he reached into the fridge and pulled out a glass bottle of coke and drank it, suddenly the two heard a loud booming horn which woke everyone up in the house, Lash and Norman after putting on their shoes rushed outside.

A man wearing a crimson red sleeveless shirt with a stash wrapped around his waist, blood red slopes, black gloves, crimson red boots and had a tattoo of a crimson red wolf with a scar on its right eye, he had messy short black hair, a gruff looking face and was a bit taller than Norman, behind him were other men and women wearing the same clothes but with sleeves attached and wore ninja like masks, "Who are they?" Lash asked, "They're the Crimson Wolf Bandits!" Norman replied, the man pulled out a sword and charged towards Lash, Lash quickly pulled out and blocked the attack with Skoll while Norman wielding a bokken struck the man in the stomach and sent him backwards.

Standing on one of the buildings was a hooded masked figure, the figure wore a brown hooded cap that reached to their feet, the figure wore the same uniform as the other Crimson Wolf Bandits but the sleeves barley covered the shoulders, and a blood red mask as they watched the fight between Lash, Norman and the bandit.

The others who were now full dressed rushed outside to see Lash and Norman fighting the man, Lash aimed his left hand at the man and fired a fire ball, but the man sliced the fire ball in half and charged at Lash once again, "What are you doing you idiots don't just stand there are others fight them!" the man called to his comrades while his and Lash's weapon clashed repeatedly.

The other bandits charged at the other weapons blazing, the others pulled out their weapons and fought the others, Norman knocked out four bandits, Nevau slashed some of the bandits chest and they collapsed to the ground, Zade and Lyra were back to back fighting the bandits, Zyker froze some of the bandits and Shade smashed them with his bat, Eleana showed a lot of skill with her chain sickles as she struck her enemies as her movement looked like she was almost dancing, Elizabeth struck her enemies necks with two long swords.

Lash and the man parried each other's swords, "Tch! Your tougher than you look!" the man grunted, Lash charged at the man with his blade intending to slash his neck but the man grabbed Lash by the throat and threw him into the air and then the man bolted to where Lash was heading, "Lash!!!" Eleana yelled, she had forgotten that there was a bandit behind her, she turned around with fear clearly in her eyes, but before the bandit had a chance to strike Eleana, the bandit's head was sliced off and landed at Eleana's feet and she almost vomited at the sight, "Sorry about that" Zade apologized, Eleana looked up at Zade and saw that his broadsword had transformed into a scythe, with a pink handle and with an electric orange blade, "Anyway are you okay?" he asked, Eleana nodded her head, "That's good! let's deal with these guys first then we'll help Lash!" Zade said, Eleana and Zade then continued to fight the bandits.

Outside of town and just near Evergreen forest Lash landed on the ground with a thud almost knocking the breath from his body, "How did I survive that?" Lash asked himself once he got to his feet and rubbing his back, his ear twitched and he blocked the man's attack once again, "Oh! So you survived that! Anyway you should at least know the name of the man who'll kill you! My name is Butch!" Butch said with a toothy grin, Lash could see a set of razor sharp teeth, but was determined to not die, Lash pushed the man sword back, "Let's do this!" Lash said calmly and holding his sword steadily.

Butch blocked each attack from Lash and noting on how aggressive Lash's fighting style seemed to be, however he got careless and Lash slashed his shoulder, "Not bad boy!" Butch said and pushed Lash and brought his sword crashing down but Lash evaded the attack and kicked Butch in the ribs, Butch caught Lash's leg and spun around in a circle before throwing Lash, Lash hit the ground and did bit of a roll before getting back on his feet, Lash impaled Skoll into the ground and he created a massive fire the same one that he accidentally used on Nevau and threw it, Butch smiled and attempted to slice the fire in half, however when Butch sliced the fireball in half it exploded sending him skidding backwards with his feet still on the ground.

Butch charged at Lash once again and Lash grabbed Skoll and charged at Butch, their blades clashed sending a fury of sparks into the air, Lash kicked Butch's kneecaps, Butch grunted in pain before headbutting Lash stumbled backwards before shaking his head.

Eleana rushed through town killing bandit after bandit she was being accompanied by Zade, Eleana and Zade were running to the outskirts of Evergreen where Butch had thrown Lash but before the two could get to the exit of town a large wall of ice formed separating Eleana and Zade, Eleana looked around and saw a female drop in front of her, the woman wore the Crimson Wolf Bandits' uniform with sleeves, she dark skin, red hair, and a small chest.

She then pulled out a spear and aimed it at Eleana, "This is as far as you go girl!" the woman said in a sultry tone of voice, Eleana gulped and got into a battle stance and the two charged towards each other, sending sparks flying into the night sky.


	12. Innocent eyes can hide a storm filled with malice

Eleana avoided the attack of the woman's spear and attempted to strike the woman but the woman quickly brought back her spear and blocked Eleana's attack, the woman's spear was made of a dark blue metal, she pushed Eleana back and stabbed Eleana's right shoulder, Eleana screamed in pain as the woman pulled out her spear and placed the tip of it on the ground, "Oh? Does it hurt?" the woman mocked, thick red blood ran down Eleana's arm and began staining her glove, but Eleana also had tears running down her face, Eleana quickly wiped away her tears and charged at the woman swung her weapon while her movements made it look like she was dancing, the woman blocked Eleana's attacks and waited for an opening when she saw and opening she thrusted his spear but Eleana leaped into the air axe kicked the woman who stumbled backwards.

"Guess I underestimated you" the woman said. and she quickly strucked Eleana in the stomach with the non-bladed part of her spear, Eleana gasp for breath while coughing out saliva, the blow also caused her to almost drop her weapon, but stood strong and determine not to lose, the woman smiled before she felt a large gust of wind that lifted her into the air and Eleana's hand movement, 'So she can control wind huh' the woman said to herself right before Eleana control the wind to slam the woman hard onto the ground but the woman quickly got back up and threw her spear at Eleana, Eleana barely could avoided the spear and the spear buried it self deep into the same wound knocking Eleana off her feet and onto the ground the woman walked up to Eleana and pinned her to the ground and she pushed the spear deeper into Eleana's shoulder, Eleana let out cries of pain as the woman pushed the spear deeper into Eleana's shoulder "That's right I wanna hear you scream!" the woman said with sadistic smile on her face.

After the wall of ice had formed separating Zade from Eleana, Zade turned around to see a man wearing the Crimson Wolf Bandit' uniform with sleeves attached and a crimson red cloth mask, Zade readied his scythe and the man in front of him created a blade of ice, and the two charged at each other Zade swung his scythe intending to slice off his opponent's head, but the bandit ducked and slashed Zade's left shoulder, blood sprayed out but Zade wasn't fazed by this and kicked the bandit in the stomach, the man pulled down his mask and exhaled a wind of cold air however Zade began to twirl his scythe around which blew the wind away, Zade then charged at the bandit once again.

Zade blocked the man's attack and heard the sounds of Eleana crying out in pain, "I need to hurry!" Zade growled as he pushed the man back and slammed his right hand on the ground, "Spectral grasp!" Zade yelled, the man raised an eyebrow in confusion right before the ground beneath erupted and an electric orange skeletal hand grabbed the man tightly, "Spirit magic!?" the man said as he struggled from the skeletal hand's grasp, Zade then faced the wall of ice and readied his scythe, 'Maybe if I can this wall down I can go and help Eleana!' Zade said to himself, but before Zade could cut down the wall of ice, he heard the sound of something shattering and spun around to see the man drop to his feet with shards of ice shattering around him, "Guess it'll have to wait!" Zade growled.

The woman continued to push her spear deeper into Eleana's shoulder, Eleana struggled to free herself the life draining from her eyes but this only caused the woman to press her spear deeper, Eleana stopped struggling, "Oh giving up are we? Well as expected! You did put up a good and now it i—!" the woman was cut off when Eleana suddenly grabbed her ankle and punched it causing a sickening crack to be heard, the woman leaped backwards and Eleana pulled the spear out from her shoulder and crimson blood splattered against the concrete road.

She got back up on her feet and charged at the woman and thrusted the spear at her but the woman dodged the attacked grabbed her spear, but Eleana lifted the woman off the ground with inhuman strength and brought her crashing down on to the ground and then threw the woman into the wall of ice, "Oaf!" the woman grunted when she hit the wall of ice, Eleana who was still holding the woman's spear was slowly walking towards the woman with an ear to ear grin and giggling but her her eye were wide with anger, the woman gulped and held herself against the wall of ice in fright.

Eleana then thrusted the spear, but the woman quickly evaded the attack, Eleana charged at the woman she then threw the spear which buried itself in the woman's shoulder before she had time to dodge, the force of the blow knocked the woman off her feet, Eleana leaped into the air grabbed the spear and forced it deeper into the woman shoulder, the woman let out a cry of pain as the spear was forced deeper into her shoulder, Eleana giggled as she forced the spear deeper and deeper into her shoulder.

Zade breathed heavily as parts of his clothes were now tattered except for his mask, his opponent, barley had a scratch on him, Zade smiled behind his mask, Zade ran at his opponent and threw his scythe and ran after it, Zade's scythe spun around as it traveled through the air, the bandit barely avoided the scythe with the loss of his left arm Zade caught the handle of his scythe readying it for another attack just then the two heard a woman's screaming in agony, a scream Zade didn't recognized it as Eleana's, but his opponent looked back at the wall of ice and vanished in gust of cold air, "Hey wait!" Zade called after the man, Zade remembered Eleana on the other side of the wall of ice, "Oh no!" Zade said with a bead of sweat dripping down his face and ran to the wall of ice.

Eleana giggled had soon turned into sadistic laughter as she continued to force the spear deeper into the woman's shoulder, "Mercy! MERCY!!!" the woman screamed in pain but this just caused Eleana to force the spear deeper into her shoulder, suddenly a man dressed in the bandit uniform but his left arm missing kicked Eleana away from the woman and pulled the spear out of her shoulder and helped her to her feet, "Thank you Frost!" the woman thanked her fellow bandit, "Are you okay Sizzle?" Frost asked, "Hardly!" Sizzle growled as she picked up her weapon, she didn't ask about Frost's arm as she saw him create a new one out of ice, suddenly the wall of ice that Frost had created was sliced in half and disintegrated into cold air and Zade slowly walked towards Sizzle and Frost.

Eleana grabbed her chain sickles and charged at Sizzle and Frost and Zade quickly placed his scythe on his back and quickly ran up behind Eleana and got her into a headlock, Eleana struggled to free herself, "I believe it is time for you and I to retreat" Frost said calmly, "Why we can take these two on!" Sizzle said bluntly, Frost shook his head in disagreement, "No. Maybe another day. But we must treat your wound before it gets infected" Frost said, "Very well" Sizzle sighed the two then vanished leaving behind gust of warm and cold air.

"Eleana! Snap out of it!" Zade said as he still had Eleana in a headlock, after a while Eleana had stop struggling and looked around in a daze, "Huh what happened where did that woman go?" Eleana asked confused, Zade sighed in relief and released Eleana, he then explained all that he knew of Eleana's fight while treating her wound, "I really did something like that!" Eleana said feeling disgusted with herself, "Yeah but no time to worry about that let's go help Lash!" Zade said, Eleana nodded and continued running in the direction to where Lash was thrown.

Zyker and Elizabeth breathed heavily and the two were back to back and surrounded by bandits but just then the bandits leaped backwards and a man and a woman appeared in front of them both wore the Crimson Wolf Bandits' uniform but the sleeves were missing and both had masks covering their faces, the man had spiky bright pink hair, a featureless mask, emerald eyes and slightly tanned skin, the female hair short curly, snowy white hair, a featureless mask and dark red eyes.

"Pull back! Me and Kasai will deal with these two" the man said pulling out two sais, the woman known as Kasai pulled out a rapier and the two bandits charged at Zyker and Elizabeth.


	13. The heat of battle

Zyker could barely block his opponent's attacks, Zyker was fighting the bandit with spiky bright pink hair, due to the male bandit having two sais, Zyker blocked one sai while the man swung the other sai causing Zyker to jump backwards in order to evade, Zyker slammed his left hand on the ground and sent a trail of icicles towards the man, the man jumped to the left in order to evade, "Not bad but my comrade Frost could do way better than you could, but if you had some more practice you could create a giant icicle to strike me" the man said with obvious sarcasm. 

Zyker took a deep breath and exhaled and charged at the man and swung his sword attempting to slash his chest, the man bent backwards and did a back flip while kicking Zyker's sword out of his hands, the man once again tried to attack Zyker, but Zyker jumped to the right and grabbed the man's right arm and begun freezing it, the man quickly pulled away but his right arm was frozen up to his elbow, "Damn...that was my favorite arm." the man said sounding a little disappointed, the man then sliced off his arm just above the elbow causing the arm to fall and shatter on the ground, he made a grunting sound and a new arm popped out of his wound sending bits of blood splattering onto the ground.

"Pretty cool huh?" the man said flexing his fingers making sure that his new arm works, Zyker picked up his sword, suddenly Zyker noticed his sword glow a faint dark blue and the sword then changed into a Rapier, "Whoa!" Zyker said in awe, he then gripped the handle of his new Rapier and ran towards the man and swung it, the man hopped backwards, "Who are you anyway?" Zyker asked, "Oh snap! Now you ask me that?!" the man said shocked, "My name is Zen a member of the Crimson Wolf Bandits!" Zen introduced himself with a bow and he then charged at Zyker and swung his sai furiously with a crazed ear to ear grin on his face, Zyker jumped backwards in order to avoid the furious swings of his opponent's weapons.

Zyker fired a ball of ice directed at Zen's legs, Zen couldn't avoid Zyker's attack and his legs were frozen completely, "Oh Barbossa dammit!" Zen grunted annoyed, Zyker then froze Zen's arms so that he couldn't try anything, "Stay put!" Zyker said running in the same direction he saw Eleana and Zade run off to "ELEANA WAIT FOR ME!!!" he shouted as he ran, "Uh hey what about me...HEY!!! Aw he's gone!" Zen said looking down at the ground, "Now what... Maybe I should practice my singing" he sighed and began singing badly.

Elizabeth and the female bandit known as Kasai clashed both seemed evenly matched, "Geh! You're tough girl who trained you?" Kasai asked, "My uncle Norman did!" Elizabeth replied, "He must be a good warrior!" Kasai said, "Well..." Elizabeth mumbled as her eyes trailed off.

Norman was fighting a female bandit, and his bokken accidentally moves a part of the female bandit's top and Norman could see her chest, "My you really don't seem to mind not wearing a bra underneath do you!" Norman said scratching his beard, the female bandit angrily kicks Norman on the temple sending him flying into Shade, "Watch it" Shade growl after Norman had landed on him.

"He... has his moments!" Elizabeth said bluntly, "I see..." Kasai said with a sweat-drop running down her temple as she then charged at Elizabeth, but Elizabeth blocked her attack and counter attack by slashing her right shoulder and began kicking Kasai at lighting fast speed, Kasai could barely blocked all of the kicks and counter by firing a jet of water at Elizabeth, Elizabeth held out her hand and a large tendril like vine blocked the jet of water.

On one of the roof tops sat the same hooded masked figure, the figure watched the battle between Elizabeth and Kasai, "How boring all they're doing is blocking each other's attacks, the battle between Sizzle and Eleana was far more interesting!" the figure said, "Oh well I guess it's nearly time to show myself to him!" the figure said standing up and vanishing.

Elizabeth knocked Kasai's weapon out of her hands and then commanded the large vine to spray sleep powder in Kasai's face and Kasai collapsed to the ground asleep, "Well better see how my Uncle and Shade are doing!" Elizabeth said running back to her house.

Norman and Shade fought near the house as the others had ran off, Shade whacked four bandits on the temple, while Norman struck the abdomens of another four, "Damn these guys don't know when to quit!" Shade growled, "True but we must keep fighting till they stop coming!" Norman replied.

Just then the hooded masked figure appeared in front of Norman and Shade and before they could react, the figure slashed them on their abdomens, blood gushed out and the two collapsed to the ground, the figure then signaled the other bandits to keep moving and vanished once again.

Zyker continued running after Eleana and Zade until, "Guess who's back!" Zen's voice called to Zyker, Zyker hopped backwards just in time to avoid being hit by some sort of explosion, Zen then walked out of the crater, his mask was gone and his face had on long scar running from his left cheek across his nose and stopped at his right cheek, "And where do you think you're going?" Zen asked, "Wait... how did you get your arms and legs free?" Zyker asked, "My boss helped me!" Zen replied with a grin, "Ah..." Zyker replied, Zyker pulled out his Rapier and readied it to fight Zen once again, Zen this time pulled out a saber and charged at Zyker, Zyker swung his Rapier when Zen was close enough, Zen leaped backwards but the blade of Zyker's Rapier slashed his chest leaving a red line on his chest, "Aw! Damn!" Zen muttered, a smile then appeared on his face and charged at Zyker once more.

Zyker having enough of dealing with Zen, readied his Rapier once more and once again was close enough and swung his Rapier with full force and speed, slicing Zen's head clean off, Zen's body collapse to the ground, it twitched for a bit before going limp, "Hehehe... Aw Damn... you got me!" Zen chuckled, "Aren't you going to regenerate?" Zyker asked, "Can't... my regeneration... has limits... and this is one of them" Zen smile, "Oh well good luck to you Zyker...." Zen said moments before he took his last breath, Zyker stared at the head, 'I never told him my name' Zyker said to himself, "Anyway Eleana might need my help!" Zyker said and he continued running.

"Uncle Norman! Shade!" Elizabeth yelled shocked when she saw Shade and Norman lying on the cobble stone ground with blood leaking out from underneath them, Elizabeth turned Norman over onto his back and muttered some words, soon a green light enveloped Norman and his wound healed and she did the same for Shade, after that she checked the two's heart pulses, "Good they're still alive" Elizabeth said with a smile on her face but that smile faded when she saw Kasai running towards her Elizabeth drew her swords once again and ran towards Kasai.

A few minutes later Shade and Norman opened their eyes to see Elizabeth sitting next to the two, behind her was headless body of a female bandit, "Are you two okay? What happened?" Elizabeth asked the two, "Well we were fighting some of the Crimson Wolf Bandits and everything was going fine until this hooded masked person appeared out of nowhere and slashed our stomachs and vanished again!" Norman explained, "Anyway lets go help the others" Shade said and the three heading towards where the others were heading.

"You really think that guy threw Lash all the way over there?" Nevau asked, "Yes." Lyra simply replied, Nevau and Lyra were just ahead of Zade and Eleana and were reaching the entrance to outskirts of Evergreen forest, but were stopped when someone or something landed in front of them with a massive boom, the man who landed in front of Nevau and Lyra, wore the uniform of the Crimson Wolf Bandits, he roughly the height of a one story building, with large muscles, long black hair that covered his eye, he hunched over like a gorilla, and held a two handed hammer like they were one handed weapons.

Nevau and Lyra gulped and looked at each other, they then drew their weapon just as Zade, Eleana and Zyker showed up, "Nice of you lot to show up" Lyra smirked, Zade scoffed and drew his scythe, Eleana drew her chain sickles and Zyker drew his Rapier, "Let's go!" five shouted and charged at the monstrosity of a bandit.


	14. The colossal bandit and the arrival of the Lightning Fox Gang

The giant bandit growled as he smashed his mace on the ground, the five quickly evaded the attack and counter attacked, Zade swung his scythe at the bandit’s leg, but the bandit just kicked him in the face sending Zade rolling backwards, “Ow!” Zade grumbled placing a hand on his head feeling warm thick blood running down the left side of his head, Nevau was the next to attack, he attempt to slice off the giant bandit’s right arm, but the blade of his broadsword buried itself an inch into the arm, the bandit grabbed Nevau and threw him into Lyra, Zyker readied his Rapier and tried to slice off one of the bandit’s legs, but the bandit kicked Zyker in the gut and sending him flying into Zade, Eleana rushed at the bandit, she leaped into the air and slashed the bandit’s chest, and then leaped backwards to help Zade and Zyker get back onto their feet.

Lyra threw an unconscious Nevau off her, grabbed her sword and charged at the bandit, in mid swing Lyra’s long sword turned into a katana, the blade was colored sky blue while the hilt was a emerald green, Lyra slashed off the bandit’s right hand’s index and middle finger, the bandit roared in pain and brought his mace crashing down attempting to crush Lyra, but Lyra evaded and Zade charged at the bandit’s left wrist and swung his scythe, the bandit let go of his mace and pulled his hand away quickly only losing his left index finger.

The bandit roared and slammed both hand on the ground, to everyone’s shock the debris began to move and attach itself onto the wounds where the left and right index fingers were and the right middle finger, the debris formed into fingers and then turned into flesh, the giant bandit smiled at the five’s shock, “What the hell is that thing!!!” Nevau said shocked after regaining consciousness, “I don’t know but I fought someone who could regenerate his arms!” Zyker replied, the bandit grabbed his mace, “He’s a golem!” a voice said behind the five, they turned around to see Frost standing there, “You again?” Zade asked, “I’m not here to fight, but be careful, Flanders is a rock golem he can regenerate his body by using stone and debris!” Frost said in his calm tone, “Wait his name is Flanders…that’s not very threatening for a bandit!” Nevau snickered, “His parents named him not me.” Frost replied, Frost then vanished in a gust of cold wind, Flanders took the opportunity to strike the five while they were distracted, Zyker turned his head to see Flanders’ mace crashing towards them.

Zyker had a sudden urge and slammed his left palm on the ground, and a dome of ice formed around the five and deflecting Flanders’ mace, “Whoa nice one Zyker!” Nevau said in astonishment, “Thanks! But I don’t think this dome will keep us safe for long!” Zyker replied, “Well when this dome of Ice shatters we’ll strike that Bandit with everything we have!” Zade said readying his scythe, the others nodded and readied their weapons, Flanders brought his mace down on the dome of ice over and over again, sweat dripped down Nevau’s forehead, Zyker gulped as the a crack formed on the dome little by little.

“NOW!!!” Zade shouted just as the dome shattered into pieces, the five leaped into the air, “Hey-Diddly-Ho!” Zade shouted obviously taunting Flanders as he slice of his right wrist, Zyker slashed off Flanders’ right leg while Nevau slashed of the left leg, Eleana twirled around slashing Flanders’ left arm turning it into small pieces, Lyra slashed Flanders’ chest, and Flanders’ collapsed onto his back with a loud thud, Flanders grunted as he hit the ground, Zyker then froze all of the wounds on Flanders so he couldn’t use the debris lying around to regenerate his limps, “Hopefully that takes care of that!” Nevau said.

Suddenly Frost reappeared, the five readied their weapons for a fight but Frost held out his hand, “My boss is telling all Crimson Wolf Bandits to retreat!” Frost said, “What scared of us already or did the police or whatever authority of this world finally decided to not let a bunch of teenagers take care of a gang of bandits?” Nevau asked with sarcastic tone of voice, “No. My boss is going to face your friend called Lash in a one-on-one match!” Frost said, “Wait! Why Lash?” Zade asked preparing his scythe to strike Frost, “I don’t know the exact reason but whatever it is its best if go and see for your selves!” Frost said he then placed a hand on the colossal bandit and the two vanished leaving behind a gust of cold air, “Come on let’s go!” Zade said running off, the others nodded and chased after Zade.

“Huh they’re leaving” Elizabeth said shocked when she saw the members of the Crimson Wolf Bandits vanished in a puff a black smoke, “Maybe whatever they’re looking for isn’t here!” Shade replied, “But didn’t one of the bandit said something about their boss being interested in Lash?” Elizabeth asked Shade, “Yeah but I don't think they want to recruit him into the Crimson Wolf Bandits!” Shade replied, soon the street that the three were on was completely deserted.

“Come on let’s find those six and…” Norman said before a lightning bolt struck where he was standing if Norman hadn’t leaped backwards he would’ve been hit by it the three turned around to see a teenager with a dark tanned skin woman standing to his left and a muscular short man, and an asian woman to the left of the tanned woman, the teenager wore a dark blue and white sleeveless shirt with collar up, ski goggles, dark blue fingerless gloves with a lightning bolt on the back palm, orange jeans, black cuff boots with metallic looking bracelets for cuffs, he had orange eyes, light blonde spiky hair that reached to his tail bone and was tied up in a low ponytail by an orange hair band and strand of hair sticking outwards.

the woman to his left, had black hair tied up in a bun, an eyepatch covering her left eye and a scar on her right cheek, dark brown eyes, pouty lips, she wore a metal breastplate, black jeans with the right legging cut out up to her right knee, and black boots.

Man to his had dark skin, a clean shaven head, and hazel eyes, a dark brown goatee, he wore a black coat made out of bear pelts, and wore leather shorts and boots.

The asian woman had long silver hair, and greyish yellow eyes, she wore a short black sleeveless top, black jeans with the right jean leggings torn off, black boots and black gloves.

The teen looked around and his nose twitched as if he was sniffing out something, “Hmhp! He’s here alright!” the teen said, “Who are you guys!” Shade asked the four people in front of them, “Who are we? Well it’s obvious you wouldn’t know us after all nearly anyone who sees our faces are dead!” the teen replied, “That doesn’t answer my quest— Wait you guys are the Lightning Fox Gang!” Shade said his eye widening with fear, the Lightning Fox Gang was one of the most feared and notorious Bandit Gangs that existed in Arcadia, and no one knew what they looked like because nearly anyone who’s encountered them were killed.

The teen smiled and before Norman, Elizabeth and Shade had a chance to get away the teen appeared behind them, but before any of them could speak, a red horizontal slash mark appeared on their torso and blood gushed, “C-crap!” Shade said weakly as the three collapsed to the ground, “Let’s go!” the teen said as him and his fellow bandits walked away from the bleeding bodies of Norman, Elizabeth and Shade.

Lash was breathing heavily as he rested on one knee while he gripped his sword which slightly held up his weight, Butch had disappeared as soon as some masked person appeared telling him to retreat under their boss’ orders, but despite this he couldn’t of been more relived of this, Lash had a sudden surge of strength when he fought Butch in the field just outside of Evergreen, but that strength soon vanished and the battle had turned into Butch’s favor if it wasn’t for that interruption Lash would’ve died.

After regaining his breath Lash got back onto his feet and began walking back to town but he soon felt someone’s presence behind him and when he turned around he saw a hooded mask figure standing behind him, the figure wore the Crimson Wolf Bandits’ uniform with the sleeves removed, Lash prepared himself to fight the new opponent despite his lack of strength to continue fighting, but to his surprise the bandit threw Lash a bottle filled with a strange green liquid.

“Drink it, don’t worry it’s not poisoned I want to fight you at full strength!” the bandit said in a muffled tone, Lash hesitantly drank the liquid and wiped his mouth he felt a strange sensation which made him feel back at top percent, the masked bandit pulled out a katana but Lash notice that the katana had two blades attached to the hilt guard, “So how long have you been a member of the Crimson Wolf Bandits, Mystic?” Lash asked the masked bandit, the bandit removed her mask and hood, to reveal long hot pink that reached to her waist, a pretty face with no make-up on, leaf green eyes, and a busty chest.

“So how did you know?” she asked, “Well I put two and two together and it couldn’t of just been a coincidence that you just passed by the cave where I was fighting Slake!” Lash said, Mystic chuckled to herself, “Well then I hope you’re ready to FIGHT!!!” Mystic yelled charging at Lash, Lash blocked her attack sending sparks flying into the night sky.


	15. The leader of the Crimson Wolf Bandits; Mystic Elysium

“Why aren’t you fighting back?” Mystic asked Lash as she swung her sword at him, Lash blocked each blow and leaped backwards, “You didn’t answer my question! How long have you been a part of the Crimson Wolf Bandits?” Lash asked, “I’m their leader, so allow me to introduce myself again! My name is Mystic Elysium the leader of the Crimson Wolf Bandits!” Mystic said reintroducing herself, she charged at Lash and swung her sword with full force, Lash blocked the attack but the force of the blow knocked him off his feet, “Now you didn’t answer my question! Why aren’t you fighting back?” Mystic asked, “Well I promised my Dad that I wouldn’t hit a woman no matter what the circumstances were!” Lash said almost sounding bitter about that promise, Mystic couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Lash, It’s good of you to make a promise like that but this is Arcadia, and promises like that won’t save you, here you going to have to fight regardless of what gender your opponent is!” Mystic said before charging at Lash once again, Lash blocked and evaded her attacks, [Why are you not fighting boy?] a voice asked Lash, ‘Huh! Who’s this?’ Lash asked the voice while avoiding Mystic’s attacks, [I’m that little voice in your head that tells you to burn things!] the voice replied, ‘Really?’ Lash asked with excitement in his head, [NO!] the voice replied, ‘Oh! Alright who are you then?’ Lash asked, [My name is Fenrir, named after the Warg that is the son of Loki and father to Skoll and Hati!] Fenrir replied, ‘Wait you were that big wolf thing that chased me on the first night when me and my friends arrived here!’ Lash said, [Indeed I am!] Fenrir said, ‘What do you want!’ Lash asked, [It was about time I introduced myself but I was happily contempt on sitting back and watching the show!] Fenrir said, [But seeing how your ass is being handed to you I might as well join in, and besides if you don’t fight something deep inside of you will!] Fenrir said, ‘What do you mean something deep inside of me will?’ Lash asked, [No time to explain, here’s what you need to do!] Fenrir said, Lash while evading Mystic’s attack summoned his other weapon Hati in left hand.

“Dual wielding are we?” Mystic asked, “Not really!” Lash said with a calm look on his face, then both Skoll (in his right hand) and Hati (In his left hand) began glowing a dim blue light and Lash clashed the two swords together surrounded Lash in a bright blinding blue light.

When the light faded Lash stood there, his clothing had changed completely and held what looked like a two handed sword, the blade was as long as Lash’s leg and was colored light blue while the hilt was wrapped in blood red bandages, near the tip of the blade pieces of the blade were missing giving it a sort of teeth look, the part where the hilt and the blade connected spiked out, Lash singlet had turned into a black sleeveless hoodie with a large white capital L on the front with the edges having a sharp spike look, Lash’s gloves now reached to his elbows, and had two red lines on both the palms and back and were still fingerless, Lash pants were still the blue denim jeans with dark purple flames on the bottom leggings and wore ski googles around his forehead, and the same violet leather lace-up boots.

“Oh my looks like you clothes changed!” Mystic said, Lash looked at his new clothes, “Whoa you’re right!” Lash said scanning his new attire, ‘Hey Fenrir can you explain why my clothes changed!?’ Lash asked the warg, [Hmhp! Who knows but it looks like your new garments can withstand your powers now!] Fenrir said still somehow observing the fight between Lash and Mystic when Lash blocked one of Mystic’s attacks by igniting his right leg, and when the fire faded his right jean legging wasn’t scorched, ‘That’s impressive, by the way how are you observing this fight?’ Lash asked, [That’s my secret boy!] Fenrir said, ‘Tch! Fine!’ Lash said annoyed that his question wasn’t answered, Lash still continued to block Mystic’s attacks with his new sword, “Even with a new blade you’re still not fighting back!” Mystic said annoyed, “I told you before I made a promise to my dad that no matter what the circumstances was I would never hurt a woman even if it grates at my nerves!” Lash grunted.

“Lash!” Nevau’s voice called out, Lash peered over his shoulder to see his friends running towards him but stop when they saw Mystic, “Hey isn’t that!” Nevau said noticing Mystic in the Crimson Wolf Bandits’ sleeveless uniform, “Yeah it’s Mystic, but why is she in the Crimson Wolf Bandits’ uniform!” Zade said, “Isn’t it obvious!” Mystic said, “Yeah I just want to know why!” Zade said, “She’s the Crimson Wolf Bandits’ leader!” Lash said still trying to push back Mystic’s sword, “She’s their leader!” Eleana said, Mystic nodded while having a sweet looking smile on her face, “Well if you not going to fight me on normal terms!” Mystic said her face getting serious, she leaped backwards and then charged at Eleana, “I’ll just have to force you to take action and protect your sister!” Mystic yelled, Mystic swung her sword aiming for Eleana neck when… 

*CLANG* Mystic’s sword was stopped by Lash’s sword, Eleana collapsed to the ground, “I know I promised my dad I wouldn’t hit a woman, but there is a time, when I don’t think I can’t hold back my urge to hurt something to the point where it can't breathe anymore!” Lash grumbled, “Hmm?” Mystic said, “I’ll tell you one thing right now Mystic! Your right about one thing if I’m going to survive in this world then I need to fight back whether my opponent is female or not and one other thing if you so much as hurt my sister... I’ll make you sorry!” Lash said with a tint of red reflecting in his icy blue eyes, “There we go now we getting serious” Mystic smiled leaping backwards.

Lash charged at Mystic swinging his sword with ease, Mystic ducked and tried to strike, Lash blocked the attack with his sword, he then tried to fire a fireball at Mystic but she dodged and tried to counterattack him, She kicked his left arm sending him skidding across the field, Lash dashed at Mystic, and swung his sword clashing with Mystic’s sword.

Suddenly a massive lightning bolt struck the ground where Lash and Mystic were standing but luckily the two dodged it, “What the!” Lash said he then looked around and his eyes widen, “Everyone! Behind you!” Lash shouted at his friends, his friends turned around and jumped to both side to avoid a lightning bolt aimed at them, the five then rushed towards Lash and looked towards the entrance to town to see a blonde spiky blonde teen, who was being followed by three other people walking behind him.

“Who are those guys?” Lash asked, “The Lightning Fox Gang and the guy in the front is their leader!” Mystic replied, “Wait those guys are the Lightning Fox Gang… Kinda of expected the leader to be a little older” Lash said, “Well I’m the leader of the Crimson Wolf Bandits and I’m about your age!” Mystic replied, “Anyway what are we going to do?” Lash asked, “Huh?” Mystic said as she looked up to see a flash of thunder and a lightning bolt came out of the clouds and was heading right towards Lash.

“Look out!” Mystic said tackling Lash out of the way of the lightning bolt, there was a loud explosion knocking Nevau, Zade, Eleana, Zyker and Lyra off of their feet, “Lash!” Eleana yelled, Lash groaned in pain from when his back hit the bumpy cold ground from when Mystic tackled him to the ground to prevent him from being hit by that lightning bolt, ‘Huh! I can feel something soft!’ Lash said to himself Lash slowly opened his eyes to see Mystic on top of him and then looked to where his right hand was, Mystic opened her eyes, and the two’s faces turned bright red, and they quickly got back up onto their feet, “Sorry about that!” Lash quickly apologized, “Its fine!” Mystic said, “Are you two done!” the leader of the Lightning Fox Gang asked as he suddenly appeared a few meters away from Lash and Mystic.

Lash notice that there was a slight Australian accent in his voice, “Who are you?” Lash asked, “Your Lash right?” the teen asked, “Yeah!” Lash replied, “Well then let’s not delay!” the teen said, but before Lash could ask what he was talking about the teen suddenly appeared in front of Lash and punched him in the face with enough force that it knocked Lash off his feet and hit the ground like a rock skipping across the water’s surface, “Lightning Fox Gang ATTACK!!!” the teen yelled and his entire gang began to charge at the group while the teen went after Lash.


	16. Lightning Fox Gang’s attack!

"Crimson Wolf Bandits attack!" Mystic yelled, and just as she yelled the attack, Frost, Sizzle, Butch, and Flanders appeared, "You called Lady Mystic!" Frost said, "Yes help me and Lash's friends defeat the Lightning Fox Gang!" Mystic said giving a brief description for calling the four, the four nodded and charged towards the Lightning Fox Gang.

"Howdy!" Sizzle greeted when she ran next to Eleana, Eleana growled at her, "I guess this is your way of saying hi!" Sizzle grunted, Eleana and Sizzle charged towards their first opponent, their first opponent was a slim dark tanned woman, she had black hair tied up in a bun, an eyepatch covering her left eye and a scar on her right cheek, dark brown eyes, pouty lips, she wore a metal breastplate, black jeans with the right legging cut out up to her right knee, and black boots.

the woman pulled a sword, "Hmhp!" the woman grunted and dashed towards Eleana and Sizzle, Sizzle held out her right index finger and fired a baseball sized fireball at the woman, the woman sliced the fireball, Sizzle smiled as the fireball exploded with a massive boom, "That's one down!" Sizzle said placing an index finger on her lip, "Is that all you got?" the woman asked swiping away the dust cloud with a single swing of her sword, "What how did she survive!?!" Sizzle asked shocked, the woman slashed her sword and Eleana and Sizzle felt a huge gust of wind, "I control wind your fire attacks have to effect on me!" the woman said, "Wind...wait you can't be Linda the Tornado Demon!" Sizzle said, "Yes the very same and you are?" Linda asked, "Sizzle the Burning beauty!" Sizzle said with a smile and did a seductive pose, "More like Burning pain in the butt!" Eleana mumbled, "What was that you little brat!" Sizzle yelled at Eleana and began pulling Eleana's cheeks, "Ow!" Eleana cried, "Enough!" Linda shouted and with a swing with her sword created a gust of wind strong enough to blow Eleana and Sizzle off their feet, however Eleana regained her balance and landed on her feet, she took a deep breath and "Wind distortion!!!" Eleana cried sending Linda's gust of wind back at her, "What the!" Linda before being knocked off her own feet by her own gust of wind, "I did it!" Eleana cheered, Linda grunted as she got back up onto her feet, "So she has power over wind too!" Linda growled, "Well it's time to make this more interesting!" she said.

Lash grunted in pain as he hit the ground from the teen's punch, "Dammit who the hell is this guy!" Lash growled as he sat up, "It's good to see that punch of mine didn't knock you out cold!" the teen said while walking at a slow paste, "Who the hell are you!!!" Lash yelled at the teen, "Who am I?" the teen asked, "My name is Cyber Mokabu, the leader of the Lightning Fox Gang and I will be your end Lash Siegfried!" Cyber replied, "Huh how do you know my name!?" Lash asked shocked, "That's my secret!" Cyber said before dashing at Lash, Lash blocked Cyber's punch with his great sword; Fenrir, "Tch! Is that all you got?" Lash grunted as skidded back a bit, "As a matter of fact...ITS NOT! ELECTRICAL BURST!!!" Cyber yelled, Lash felt a huge electrical shock flowing from his blade, Lash quickly leaped two meters away from Cyber, his entire body feeling numb but still held a steady grip on his weapon.

"Dammit what the hell was that electrical shock that I felt coming from Fenrir!" Lash grumbled, "That's my power!" Cyber said, Lash looked up to electrical currents flowing around Cyber's finger tips, "I have control over electricity! And that attack I yelled was one of my signatures; Electrical Burst, you're very lucky to pull yourself away and still be alive!" Cyber said with a mocking smile, "Bastard! What do you want from me!" Lash asked Cyber, "If you want to know then you'll just have to beat me!" Cyber said dashing at Lash once again.

Lash swung his sword at Cyber's neck but he dodged the attack and punched Lash in the gut, "Electrical Burst!" Cyber yelled his attack once again, Lash felt the same electrical shock but this time it was much stronger than before, Lash yelled in pain as he felt a painful amount of electricity flow through his body, Cyber pulled his fist back and Lash collapsed to the ground, he was already unconscious before he hit the ground, "Not dead yet...? I'll fix that!" Cyber said readying his hand ready to strike Lash's chest.

Suddenly Mystic appeared and struck Cyber in the chest with her foot, "Ngh! Stay out of this Mystic!" Cyber yelled, "Why are you here? And what do you want with Lash!" Mystic asked, "That's my secret!" Cyber said, "Tell me you orange eyed bastard!" Mystic demanded, "I'm bored!" Cyber said, "What?" Mystic asked confused, "I'm bored!" Cyber said, "And why are you bored!?" Mystic demanded, "At this rate the pleasure of killing him won't be fun if he's this weak!" Cyber scoffed while looking at Lash, and just as Cyber was about to walk away...

"Who's a weakling now!?" a voice said stopping Cyber in his tracks and giving Mystic a bit of a fright, Cyber and Mystic looked towards Lash's direction to see him struggling to get back onto his feet, "What the... He's a human he should've been knocked out from the amount of voltage that flowed through his body from my Electrical Burst!" Cyber said shocked, 'My... He really is something!' Mystic whispered to herself, "Who were you calling weak!" Lash yelled once he was on his feet, "You obviously!" Cyber said bluntly, "But how the how are you still conscious after suffering a second Electric Burst!?" Cyber asked, "Honestly I don't know, but who the hell cares, I'm going to beat you here and now!" Lash yelled with a fiery determination in his eyes.

"Hmhp! Just give up!" Cyber said electricity flowing out from his knuckles, 'Hey Fenrir!' Lash said while summoning his sword, [What?]Fenrir asked, 'Are you able to change your weapon form?' Lash asked, [Depends on what you're asking for!] Fenrir replied, 'Metal knuckles!' Lash said, [Hmhp! I think I can do that! Want to go hand to hand huh!] Fenrir said.

Fenrir then began to glow a dim blue light and exploded with the light beginning to wrap around Lash's fists, soon the light vanished and in its place where electric blue and blood red metal fingerless gauntlets, [How's that?] Fenrir asked, 'Its good thanks!' Lash thanked the warg, Lash then smashed his fist together sending sparks of fire, "Alright let's do this!" Lash growled, Lash and Cyber then dashed towards each other and their right fists collided with each other sending sparks of fire and lightning everywhere, "Hmph! Seems that you're holding up alright!" Cyber grunted, Lash didn't replied, "TAKE THIS ELECTRIC BURST!!!" Cyber yelled, "HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash yelled, just after the two yelled there was an explosion made from fire and lightning.


	17. Lash vs. Cyber

'That explosion was massive I wonder if he's okay?' Mystic said to herself after witnessing the explosion that occurred between Lash and Cyber, after the explosion cleared a smoke cloud appeared obscuring Mystic's view on Lash and Cyber's condition after the explosion, to her surprise Lash leaped out of the smoke cloud.

There were clear signs that he had receive damage from the explosion; his shirt was torn on the upper right side, his hair tie was gone and his hair flowed an inch from his shoulders, his jeans were slightly torn, his shoes and gloves were completely fine, his body was slightly covered in soot, dirt and bruises but apart from that he was still ready for a fight, and for some reason she was relieved to see he was alright.

Cyber suddenly jumped out of the smoke cloud and tried to punch Lash, his shirt was completely gone probably blown away from the explosion, his jeans, boots and gloves were still intact, and his hair tie was gone and his hair flowed down to his waist, his orange eyes gleamed like a raging fire as he tried to lay a hit on his opponent, Lash found his chance and began to fight back.

Lash engulfed his fist in fire, while Cyber engulfed his fist in electricity, Lash and Cyber traded blows while avoided each other's attacks, Lash and Cyber then punched each other in the faces at the same time, the blows caused both to stagger backwards but both regained their balance, "Heh! Now you're putting up a real fight!" Cyber grinned.

Lash managed to land a hit on Cyber but he just shrugged it off, "Take this Machine Gun Fist Attack!!!" Cyber yelled punching Lash at a furious pace, his fist barely visible to the naked eye, "You know I've always wondered why some people like to yell their attacks, it's like saying I'm going to hit you and you can dodge it! But then again I do it myself!" Mystic said to no one and if the others were around they would probably think she was crazy.

Lash staggered after Cyber had ended his attack but managed to find his balance and wipe away some blood from his mouth, Lash cupped his hands and created a small ball of fire before throwing and parting his hands in the air to make the small ball of fire become a beach ball size fireball, Cyber scoffed and threw his right hand in the air creating a beach ball size ball of electricity, the two threw their attacks at each other and they exploded the two ran towards each other again, "Take this Hellbreaker!" Lash yelled, "You think that can beat me? Electric Burst!" Cyber yelled the two's fists collided with each other and once again an explosion appeared but somehow not so big as the last one. 

Lash and Cyber leaped backwards away from each other and Mystic's face went red when she saw that Lash's shirt was completely gone, "G-great now they both half naked!" Mystic stuttered, Lash fired a fireball at Cyber but Cyber jump kicked it back at Lash, Lash grunted in pain as the fire ball hit his stomach, "Gonna feel that one in the morning!" Lash muttered, Cyber appeared in front of Lash and attacked Lash with Machine Gun Fist Attack, but Lash retaliated with a flame kick to Cyber's ribs before he could use the move.

Mystic looked up at the sky, "It's dawn now, so it won't be long till the sun comes up fully, I wonder how long our fight went?" Mystic asked herself, Cyber laughed, "What's so funny?" Lash asked, "Nothing really!" Cyber replied, "But you know what?" Cyber said, "What?" Lash asked, "There's a reason why my gang is one of the dangerous bandit gangs out there reason one: We kill anyone who sees our faces! So you and your friends are quite lucky to live this long! And second!" Cyber said before suddenly his body began to change, his body grew dark yellow fur and his jaw and nose extended to and morphed into a wolf's snout and jaw, his hair merged with his fur, three tails appeared on his tail bone, his hands extended an inch and grew claws, and when his opened his eyes his eyeballs were black with an orange glowing orbs.

Cyber however still retained his skinny muscular build and still wore his pants, "This is my beast form! I'm a three tail Were-Wolf!" Cyber said with a cocky smiled, "Hmm! Neat" Lash replied.

Cyber then dashed in front of Lash and tried to slash him but Lash was able to dodge the attack and retaliate with a fireball, but Cyber kicked it aside, "In this form my five senses and movement are increased, that attack won't work on me!" Cyber said crossing his arms, "Tch!" Lash growled, Lash then charged at Cyber, "Electric Burst!" Cyber yelled punching Lash in the stomach and then kicking him backwards, "I have to say this battle has become one-sided now since I've turned into my beast form!" Cyber grinned.

'Cyber isn't joking around, unlike Lash, some of us become rejuvenated in stamina and power once we change into our beast forms!' Mystic said to herself showing concern, "It's over Lash give up and save yourself the humiliation! I've won!" Cyber said his voice sounding cold, "D-dammit!" Lash said while coughing out blood, "I-I'm not going to lose here!" Lash said slowly getting up shocking both Cyber and Mystic.

"I'M NOT GONNA GIVE UP TILL THE VERY END!!! CYBER I WILL BEAT YOU!!!" Lash yelled at the top of his lungs before a spiral of red fire engulfed his body, the others seized their battle to see a spiral of fire rise to the sky.

"Is that who I think that is!" Zyker said looking at the bright red spiral of fire, "Yeah without a doubt, looks like Lash as unleashed something deep within him!" Lyra said with a smile, "Now this is going to be good!" Nevau smirked, "Hmhp! Good luck buddy! Show em' what you're made of now!" Zade grinned, "Big brother! Let's go Sizza!" Eleana said, "It's Sizzle! You did that on purpose!" Sizzle said angrily, everyone resumed their fight.

"Amazing, I'm feeling a new source of power, it's almost like a completely different person is in there!" Mystic said shielding her eyes, Cyber stared at the spiral of fire, 'So that old fortune teller was right this might be a battle I'll lose!' Cyber said to himself as he chuckled to himself.

When the spiral of fire vanished standing in its place, was something neither Cyber or Mystic expected, Lash's body had changed completely, his body now had jet black scales covering everything, his shoes disappeared and his feet had become reptilian and had claws where the toenails were, his hands had claws as well, a long reptile tail lashed back and forth, his head had also became more reptilian, with a strong jaw filled with razor sharp teeth, Lash's hair now reached to his waist and became spikier with two long horns on the back of his head, red curved triangular marks appeared on his body one on each shoulder, three running down his arms, and six on his tail, Lash's build was still skinny but there was clear signs of muscles on his body now, he still retained his blue denim jeans and gloves, when Lash opened his eyes they were now bright yellow, his iris remained icy blue.

"N-no way he's changed from a human to a Dragon-human!" Mystic said in awe, 'Huh!? what the... what happened to me!?' Lash asked himself shocked at his new form, "Hey Lash!" Cyber called out to Lash snapping him out of his deep thought, "I'm impressed, I don't know how but you've changed from a human to a dragon, even your scent smells different!" Cyber said, "Dragon! I'm a dragon now...that's awesome!" Lash said with a grin on his face as well as doing a little dance, Cyber notice this and sighed with a sweat drop running down his forehead.

"Now let's get back to our fight no doubt that you're feeling a little rejuvenated right?" Cyber asked, Lash responded with a nod, "Well now let's fight with everything we've got!!!" Cyber yelled dashing towards Lash, "Yeah!!!" Lash yelled dashing towards Cyber, when they were close enough the two tried to punch each other but their fist collided with each other, and the ground surrounding them shattered from the sudden force of power, the two then began to furiously punch at each other.

Cyber tried to spin kick Lash on the neck but Lash blocked it with his right arm and retaliated with a punch to Cyber's stomach, the force of the blow knocked Cyber back a few paces but Cyber recovered to his feet, Cyber ran at Lash again, Lash clenched his mouth shut but Mystic could see, sparks of fire escape the sides of his mouth, "Take this: FIRE DRAGON BREATH!!!" Lash somehow managed to yell as he spewed a column of fire from his mouth, Cyber barley avoided the fire breath as some of his fur became singed, "Whoa!!! That's hot!" Cyber muttered to himself while puffing out some small flames on his fur.

Cyber charged towards Lash once again Cyber readied his fist and it became engulfed in electricity, Lash readied his fist as well and an intense amount of heat flowed into it, "Electric Burst!!!" Cyber yelled, "HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash yelled once again their attack collided and a massive explosion appeared but this time a flame orange and electric blue light shot straight out of the explosion.

Mystic knew it was Lash and Cyber taking their fight to the sky, Lash punched Cyber in the face knocking him back before firing a small burst of flame keeping him airborne, Cyber recovered and fired a small burst of electricity and charged at Lash once again and kicked him in the ribs, the fight continue with the two trading blows, as well as the sun slowly rising into the sky, 'Damn why do I feel tired all of a sudden! I'll have to end this now with one strike!' Lash said to himself.

When Cyber got closer Lash released a huge burst of fire taking him higher, 'Huh? What's he doing?' Cyber said to himself, Cyber looked at Lash dumbfounded at what his enemy was doing but that was one mistake that he would soon regret, 'Alright I've mustered up all the energy I have left' Lash muttered when Lash threw his arm back his body was engulfed in an electric blue aura that formed a dragon and wasting no time flew down straight towards Cyber at high speed.

Cyber registered what Lash was doing and crossed his arms in an X shape to block Lash's attack because he wouldn't be fast enough to dodge it, "DRAGON FURY HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash yelled, the blue aura was the adsorbed into Lash's right arm and his right fist blazed up like a raging fire, "This is going to hurt!" Cyber yelled clenching his eyes tightly as Lash punched him hard in the stomach and Cyber was sent colliding fast in to the ground, back fist with a massive boom.

Cyber cried out in pain as both Lash and him then both reverted back into their human forms and Lash''s shoes had also reappeared back on his feet, "*Huff* *Huff* I-I won!" Lash weezed as landed back on the ground exhausted, "Ugh!" Lash groaned as he collapsed to the ground staring up at the morning sky as he heard his friends shouting his name as they came closer to the crater and then everything went black.


	18. The adventure continues

“Ngh!” Lash groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying in a bed in a room, “Where am I?” Lash asked as he slowly got up but felt a sharp jolt of pain on his torso, he looked down to see bandages covering chest, ribs and left shoulder and a few bandages on his arms.

Lash soon notice that someone was resting their head on the bed using their arms as a support while sitting on a wooden chair next to the bed, Lash noticed the person’s hot pink hair, 'It’s Mystic!' Lash whispered to himself making sure he didn’t wake her up as he lifted himself up.

Soon Mystic woke up and looked up at Lash, Lash notice that she was wearing different clothes, she now wore a pink zip up hoodie, a blue skirt, purple wrist gloves and violet lace-up boots, “Hi!” Lash greeted with a smile, “Hi” Mystic replied back, “So... how long was I out?” Lash asked, “Five days!” Mystic replied, “Five days!? No way!” Lash replied shocked, “Yes, your friends were really worried about you so I came and check on you but I notice your sister was glaring at me and growling!” Mystic said, “Just ignore her when she does that!” Lash said calmly, “Are you able to move?” Mystic asked, “Yeah slightly!” Lash nodded, he then got out of bed luckily his pants were still on, and chucked on a new shirt, his trench coat, his new gloves, tied up his hair in his usual low ponytail and put on his shoes and followed Mystic downstairs.

“Lash! You're okay!” Zyker said cheerfully and tears running down his face when he saw that his friend was okay, Lash replied with a nod and a smile, “Big brother! I’m glad you’re okay!!!” Eleana cried as she tackle hugged Lash to the ground with tears in her eyes, “OW! Yeah I’m okay sis! But watch the bandages” Lash said with a smile and patted his sister’s head, Mystic suddenly felt a little jealousy of Lash patting his sister’s head, but tried her best to hide it.

“Ah! You’re awake now!” a voice said behind Lash, Lash peered over his shoulder to see Norman and Elizabeth standing behind him, after awhile, “So Shade left two days ago” Lash said after Norman explained what happened to Shade after the fight with the Crimson Wolf Bandits and Lightning Fox Gang ended and how Norman had to pay for all the damage done to the town, “Cheer up uncle it’s not all that bad!” Elizabeth said trying to cheer up her uncle, “So what are you guys gonna do now?” Elizabeth asked, “Well we’ll still need to find a guy who might help us out” Zade replied, “What guy?” Elizabeth asked, Lash pulled out the photo of Mandy’s son and passed it to Elizabeth, “Wait I know him!” Elizabeth said her eyes widening when she looked at the photo, “Really!?” Zyker asked surprised, the six smiled as they had finally found a lead to finding Mandy’s son.

“Yeah!” Elizabeth nodded, “So where is he?” Zyker asked, “Last I heard from him he was travelling to Soncosa; a country to the north of here!” Elizabeth replied, “Right then that’s where we’re heading to next!” Lyra said, “Alright but you guys are going to need a boat! Luckily the port town that’ll take you there will be at least a one day walk through the forest and a nine day walk after you get out of the forest if you start now!” Norman said, “Alright thank you for letting us stay, we’ll grab our stuff and be off!” Lyra thanked Elizabeth and Norman, the six then grabbed their stuff and left Norman’s house.

“I just remembered something!” Lash said, he then turned to face Mystic, “Where’s you bandit gang?” Lash asked, “Oh! Three days ago we went our separate ways so the Crimson Wolf Bandits are now disbanded!” Mystic replied, “Okay... so what’re you going to do now?” Lash asked, “Honestly I don’t know. I thought I might travel with you lot if it’s okay with you lot?” Mystic asked, “Sure it’ll be fun to have someone new to travel with!” Nevau said with a smile like he forgot that she was their enemy five days ago, “I don’t see why not!” Zyker said with a wide grin, “Very well but I’ll keep a close eye on you!” Lyra said, Eleana said nothing, “What about you?” Mystic asked Lash, “Well... I guess it’ll be okay. As long as you don’t do anything suspicious!” Lash said scratching the back of his head, Mystic smile and hugged Lash which gave Zade and Nevau a few ideas on why she did that, “Thank you!” Mystic thanked, “U-uh no problem” Lash smiled nervously.

The group was now sixty meters away from Evergreen forest, “Hey Lash!” Nevau called to Lash, “Yeah?” Lash replied, “You said that during your fight with Cyber you transformed in a dragon right?” Nevau asked, “Yeah I did!” Lash said, “Well can you show us?” Nevau asked, “Um... Sure!” Lash replied, the group came to a halt and Lash walked about five meters away from them, “Alright here it goes!” Lash said and a spiral of fire engulfed his body and vanished quickly as it appeared but Lash was in his Dragon form.

He seemed to only wear his new gloves and jeans in the form, “That’s cool!” Nevau and Zyker said in awe, Lash then reverted back into his normal form, with his shirt, coat and shoes on, “Alright let’s keep moving!” Lyra said and the group continued walking, “Hey Mystic” Eleana said to Mystic who was walking next to him, “Yeah?” She replied, “Why did you decide to travel with us?” Eleana asked, Mystic shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know really! But for some reason I’m just happy being near Lash” Mystic said with a smile, “Huh?” Lash asked after hearing his name, “Nothing!” Mystic said quickly turning her head away, “Um... ok!” Lash said a little confused. 

Night soon fell and the group had set up a campsite, and Nevau had cooked everyone dinner, and once they were done, Lyra, Eleana, Zyker and Nevau went to their tents so Lash, Mystic and Zade were awake, Zade sat on the other side of the fire while having his scythe out and having a clear look at it, its pink blade gleamed at the light of the campfire.

Mystic sat opposite to Zade staring hard at the fire while Lash brought out a book from his bag and began reading, “So... what now?” Mystic asked, Lash shrugged his shoulders while not taking his eyes off his book, “Well I’m going to bed now so don’t up too late you two especially you Lash!” Zade said grinning behind his dark blue mask, Zade made his scythe vanished and went into his tent, “What does he mean by that?” Mystic asked, “You’ll find out, trust me!” Lash replied, “Anyway what happened to Cyber?” Lash asked, “His Gang took him back to their hideout to rest!” Mystic replied, Lash sighed as he closed his book placed it back in his bag and looked up at the night sky, suddenly Lash felt a sharp jolt of pain in his right arm, “Lash what's wrong!?” Mystic asked concern when Lash dropped to his knees gripping his right forearm tightly.

Lash gripped his right arm tightly, he removed the glove and his arm right up to the elbow changed to a black claw like arm with dark blue ring like cracks forming around the thump, fingers and part of the forearm and the elbow of the claw like arm trying to engulf the rest of his arm but just stopped above the elbow.

Lash and Mystic looked at the new arm with shock on their faces, “W-what the hell!?” Lash asked shocked, he flexed the fingers to see if they could move which they did, the others then came out of their tents after hearing Lash cry of pain, “Dude are you ri…!” Nevau stopped when he saw Lash’s right arm, Nevau just wore his Pajama pants “What happened to your arm!?” he asked with shock, “I don’t know I was just sitting here talking to Mystic, then I felt a sudden jolt of pain and then this happened!” Lash explained, after a moment of silence, Lash asked Lyra if she had any bandages, Lyra reached into her bag and pulled out a cylinder of bandages and wrapped them around up to Lash’s elbow of his right arm, “Thanks” Lash thanked Lyra, “No problem!” Lyra replied, “Well let’s go to bed now!” Nevau said, the six agreed and everyone went to bed. 

In the morning, Nevau let out a big yawn while getting dressed followed by Lyra, Zyker and Eleana, Zade and Mystic were already dressed by the time they woke up, “Where’s Lash?” Mystic asked, “He’s still asleep, he can be a heavy sleeper at times” Zade replied, “I’ll go wake him up!” Nevau said walking into Lash’s tent.

Nevau then walked out of the tent, “He’s awake now, he’s just getting dressed!” Nevau said, Lash then walked out of his tent wearing a red and white t-shirt, black jeans, his violet lace-up boots, and his gloves, his right arm was still bandaged up and had his right glove on it, Nevau made everyone breakfast and after they packed up their stuff, they continue their journey to Bonsa port.

Elsewhere; a tall muscular man with short dark purple hair sat on a rock while drinking water out of a plastic bottle, he stared up at the sky, “Hmm! Why does it feel like I’m going to meet some interesting people soon!” the man said before taking another sip from his bottle.


	19. Separated

Just on the outskirts of Bonsa port which is the group’s destination in order to reach Soncosa, the group had set up camp for the night and while Nevau was cooking dinner, Lash lit the campfire with his fire powers while, Zyker and Mystic fetched wood for the fire, Eleana, Lyra and Zade pulled out some chairs from Zade’s bag and set them around the campfire, when Zyker and Mystic returned with the firewood, Nevau had finished cooking dinner, “I’ve notice something” Mystic said while eating her dinner, “What?” Zyker asked, “How come Nevau cooks our dinner every night?” Mystic asked, “Well I’m the only one here aside from Zade who can cook and I’ve let Lash cook one time!” Nevau said, “And?” Mystic asked, “Well let’s just say our stomachs are still paying the price for it!” Nevau said, “Hey at least I tried!” Lash spat out, “Well at least we’ll be heading to a new land soon!” Zyker said changing the subject, “Yeah, who knows what things we’ll see” Eleana smiled.

After everyone had finished their dinner, they went to bed for an early night and in the morning, they woke up had breakfast, packed up their stuff and headed into town.

“Alright I’ll go and get the tickets for the boat, the rest of you can do what you want and we’ll meet back with each other at the center of town!” Nevau explained once they had entered the town, everyone nodded and the group split up.

Lash and Zyker walked down the street and into a dairy, “Alright let’s see what they have!” Lash said walking up to where the drinks were stored, and pulled out a bottle of Nero Cola, while Zyker grab a bottle of Lemonade, they paid the person at the counter and headed towards the center of town.

Eleana and Lyra were already waiting at the center of town feeling that there was nothing to do and waited for Nevau to come back with the boat tickets to Soncosa, “I’m bored!” Eleana sighed, “We’ll just have to wait until Nevau comes back with our tickets, besides I could teach you to play Vanguard if you want?” Lyra said, “Okay!” Eleana replied, Lyra reached into her bag and pulled out two deck boxes and gave one to Eleana.

With Zade and Mystic, the two were looking around the town, “So why do you wear a mask?” Mystic asked Zade hoping to start a conversation, “Eh? I don’t know really, just feel like it!” Zade shrugged, “Okay” Mystic said somewhat disappointed with the answer she received.

Lash and Zyker caught up with Lyra and Eleana, Zyker called out Eleana’s name happily with a perverted smile on his face but felt a tug on his collar and when he turned his head he saw Lash looking at him with an annoyed look, “So what’s up?” Lash asked as him and Zyker walked up to the two, “Lyra taught me how to play Vanguard” Eleana smiled, “And who won?” Lash asked, “She did” Lyra pointing at Eleana, “Not bad, sis” Lash smiled, "I was just holding back! That's all" Lyra said, "Sure you were!" Zyker said with a cheeky smile.

Soon Zade and Mystic arrived and caught up with everybody, “Now we wait for Nevau to get back!” Lyra said, Zyker and Lyra began to play Vanguard while Zade read a book and Eleana pulled out a rubix cube given to by Christian (a friend of the group who was still back on earth) for her birthday, and Lash and Mystic sat together on a bench while Lash took a sip out of his drink, “What are they playing?” Mystic asked pointing at Zyker and Lyra, “Cardfight! Vanguard, it’s a card game” Lash replied, “Do you play?” Mystic asked, “Yeah along with Future card Buddyfight which is another card game that me, Zyker, Lyra and Nevau play” Lash said, “Can you teach me how to play” Mystic asked, “Sure, but I’ve only got one Buddyfight deck and one Vanguard…I’m sure Lyra will let you borrow a deck if you ask politely” Lash said, “Okay, does Zade play a card game?” Mystic asked, “Yeah, he does seem a bit seems interested in Buddyfight, but he mainly likes to play Magic the gathering” Lash said, “And what about your sister?” Mystic asked, “Not really but she seems interested, but I’m not really sure” Lash said and Mystic chuckled, “What’s so funny?” Lash asked, “In a way you and your friends are like card game group” Mystic chuckled.

“Yeah well Lyra did try to have the school give us a room to play card games privately without being annoyed by the others last year” Lash said, “And how did that go?” Mystic asked, “We didn’t get a room so we used the library during break times” Lash sighed, “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask, why are Nevau and Zade so tense around each other; such as glaring at each other?” Mystic asked, “Who knows maybe they’re madly in love” Lash replied with a shrug and just after he said that someone’s shoe connected with his face and knocked him off the bench, “Lash are you okay!?” Mystic asked concerned, “I’m alright I'm just seeing stars and getting acquainted with the ground...” Lash mumbled.

“Lash how many times do I have to tell you! Me and Zade are not madly in love!” Nevau growled, “Then why do you glare at each other?” Mystic asked helping Lash to his feet, “Well we use to be good friends, but now I find the guy a pain in the ass at times, the same goes for Lyra!” Nevau explained, “And the only reason me and Lyra hang out with him is because of Lash and Zyker are trying to keep the group together!” Nevau sighed, “That got to be tough for them” Mystic said as she notice Lash was still seeing stars.

“Yeah it is, Lash sometimes doesn’t talk and keeps to himself when we were back on earth while Zyker like to be outgoing and friendly" Nevau said and snapped Lash out of his star seeing trance, “Alright guys I’ve got the tickets, so let’s go!” Nevau said, the others nodded and began to walk to the direction of the boat, “By the way Mystic” Nevau said as he walked next to Mystic behind the group, “What?” Mystic replied, “Lash rarely talks to girls, so you should feel lucky that he talks to you” Nevau smiled and ran to catch up with the others, Mystic couldn’t stop herself blushing at what Nevau just said, she quickly shook her head and ran to catch up with the others.

Everyone showed the captain their tickets and walked onto the ship, “So here we are the boat to Soncosa!” Lyra said, “So how many days will it take till we reach Soncosa?” Eleana asked, “Twelve or fifteen days!” Nevau replied, the group was then approached by one of the crew members, the person was a female, who wore a white uniform one would see a navy officer wear, “Please follow me to your rooms!” the woman said, she began to walk off, the group followed and she showed everyone their rooms they would be sleeping in.

After that the group then walked into the cafeteria, “Well this is going to be fun!” Zyker said with a smiled, Eleana nodded in agreement, Lash sighed in boredom, “Well at least we got a lead to where Mandy’s son is” Zyker said to Lash.

Twelve days later; Zyker was walking down the side of the boat looking at the vast ocean, he could see dolphins leaping out of the water and seagull flapping their wings in the wind, he felt the gently breeze brush against his face and afro, just then he heard a female scream and he recognized it immediately, “ELEANA!!!” Zyker yelled running towards where he heard the scream.

When he saw Eleana, Zyker stopped and a streak of blood escape his right nostril and a smile of bliss appeared on his face, Eleana had fallen over and Zyker could see her pink striped underwear, “Ow!” Eleana groaned as she sat up, she then turned her head to see Zyker’s perverted smile and Eleana’s face went bright red and slapped Zyker out of his daze, “Oh! Eleana I’m sorry, I heard you scream and came to help you and then I saw your underwear and well…” Zyker mumbled before remembering the scene and his smile came back, Eleana sighed and walked off.

Lash walked towards the cafeteria, ‘Man so much has happened since we’ve arrived here’ Lash thought to himself, Lash then bumped into someone, “Ah! Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going!” Lash apologized to the man, when Lash got a better look at the man he could see that the man wore a long white cape that reached to his ankles and had a hood covering his face except for his mouth, the man scoffed and walked away, “Alright...” Lash said before continuing his walk to the cafeteria.

When he entered the cafeteria he saw Mystic sitting down a table and when she saw him she invited him to sit with her, “How’re you doing?” She asked, “Fine, but I bumped into this weird guy wearing a long white hooded cape earlier” Lash said, “Yeah? Well we’ll be meeting people like that” Mystic said, suddenly the entire ship began to shake, “What’s happening!?” Lash asked as he and Mystic jumped to their feet, Nevau, Zyker, Zade, Lyra and Eleana ran into the cafeteria, “What’s going on!?” Nevau asked, “How should we know!” Mystic replied, “Come on we should ask the captain!” Zade told everyone and they all headed to the captain's room as they ran to their shock and horror the other passengers and crew members were dead and their bodies scattered everywhere, “W-what the fuck!?” Nevau swore when he saw the bodies, “Everyone’s dead!” Eleana said, “Come on! We need to find the captain!” Mystic shouted.

When the group arrived at the captain's room they found the captain laying on his back in a pool of blood, but he was breathing heavily, “What happened here!?” Zade asked the captain, he would have asked the captain if he was alright but he saw the large wound in the side of his ribs, “T-the e-engine room... h-he’s heading t-to t-the... e-engine r-room!” the captain stuttered as he coughed out blood, “Who’s heading to the engine room!?” Nevau asked running up next to Zade, “A m-man w-wearing a w-w-white... cape please s-s-stop him!” Captain stuttered before breathing his last, Zade and Nevau looked at each other and nodded and they ran towards the engine room followed by the others but soon the ship splat in half and Lash, Nevau, Mystic and Eleana were separated from Zyker, Zade and Lyra, “Guys!” Lash cried out, “Don’t worry about us! You three need to stop that guy before something bad happens!” Zade shouted to Lash, the four nodded but Lash was a bit hesitant to leave the rest behind.

Lash, Mystic, Nevau and Eleana ran into the engine room and found the hooded man tearing the engine apart and setting some glowing circles on it, “Stop right there!” Mystic yelled at the man, the man turned around and before anyone could react pulled out a rapier and slashed Lash's right shoulder, Lash cried out in causing Nevau, Mystic and Eleana to pull out their weapons and retaliate, Lash summoned Fenrir and then split it into Skoll and Hati and charged at the man, the hooded man blocked each attack thrown at him, and fire a powerful fire at Mystic but Lash jumped in front of her and taking attack, Lash clenched his teeth in pain and before he could react the man lunged towards him, Eleana kicked the man in the ribs and Nevau swept kicked the man tripping him over but the man quickly got back on his feet.

Mystic appeared behind the man and tried to strike him but he kick her sword out her hands, Nevau rushed towards the man but was punched in the gut, it was clear as daylight that the man was just toying with them, Lash, Mystic, Nevau and Eleana fed up with it began dashed towards the man at the same time but he forced them back with little effort, the man peered over his shoulder to see the magic circles started glowing a dangerous red and smiled a toothy grin.

“Well kiddies it was fun playing around but I'm afraid it’s time to say goodbye!” the man said vanishing when a black oval shape portal appeared behind him and before the four could react to what happened the boat's engine exploded engulfing them, but the explosion didn’t just stop with the engine room the entire ship along with Zade, Zyker and Lyra were also engulfed by the explosion.


	20. Soncosa

“Huh where am I?” Lash said as he looked around and saw a foggy forest where the trees loomed over the clearing as if they were trying to devour it, “Oh this is where I met Fenrir, Skoll and Hati for the first time!” Lash said, “But why am I here? Didn’t that explosion kill me?” Lash asked confused while looking around, Lash got to his feet, “HEY FENRIR, SKOLL, HATI ARE YOU HERE?” Lash yelled at the top of his lungs trying to call forth the wargs, but no answer not even a single howl, “Great when I need them the most they’re not here!” Lash grumbled.

Lash began to walk around until he tripped over something, “Ow! What did trip over?” Lash said rubbing his temple he peered over his shoulder to see a what look like a tail, but to Lash’s shock it wasn’t a wolf tail that belonged to either Fenrir, Skoll or Hati, it was a reptilian tail, it was dark blue in color and much bigger than the trees in the forest, suddenly the giant tail swung itself at Lash.

Lash awoke screaming for a few minutes and when he calmed down he placed a hand on his head wiping away the sweat, “God I hate that sometimes!” Lash grumbled, Lash then looked around to find himself in a bedroom and one that didn’t belong to the boat that he and the others were, he also saw his sister Eleana resting in a bed on the other side of the room.

Suddenly someone ran into the room and Lash recognized her, “Mystic!” Lash said in shock, “Are you okay?” she asked concerned, “Y-yeah! I just had a bad dream! But where are we, this isn’t the ship and didn’t that explosion killed us?” Lash asked, “I was just as surprised as you were when I woke up yesterday, some couple found me, you and Eleana washed up on the shore, and luckily for us we were still alive so they brought us here to rest!” Mystic explained, “How long were we out for?” Lash asked, “Apparently I was out cold for six days!” Mystic said, “And the others?” Lash asked, “They only found us three. But I’m sure if we survived then they would of too!” Mystic said, Lash clenched his blanket tightly he was unsure about what Mystic said was true about the others surviving the explosion for all he and Mystic knew they could have been the only ones that were lucky.

“So where are?” Lash asked not taking his eyes off the blanket, “We’re on Soncosa now!” Mystic replied, “I should probably give you some alone time to take all this in I’ll be in the dining hall if you need me” Mystic faintly smiled before leaving the room.

Twenty minutes passed when Lash and Eleana who was now awake finally decided to leave the room and walk into the dining hall, there they saw Mystic talking with a man and woman while a girl who looked around Lash’s age or maybe a year older was in the kitchen, the man short brown hair, yellow eyes, he wore a red dress shirt with the buttons near his chest unbuttoned, and the sleeves rolled up Lash noticed that the man’s right arm was missing, the man also wore black dress pants and black dress shoes, he had a carefree smile on his face.

While the woman next to him had long spiky snowy white hair that reach to her elbows, hazel eyes, a white t-shirt, a small bust, a long skirt that reached to her ankles, and what looked like brown leather boots, compared to the man she had a serious face.

“Ah! You two are awake!” The man said with a smile when he noticed Lash and Eleana, “Yeah” Lash nodded “Thanks for saving us!” Eleana thanked the two, “Well sit down and I’ll help Kitty with lunch!” the man said getting up and walked into the kitchen, “You have to excuse my husband he can be a bit carefree at times” the woman said, “Anyway what are your names? We’ve already met Mystic here and I want know you two's names” the woman asked, “I’m Lash! Lash Conrad Siegfried!” Lash introduced himself, "And I'm Eleana Sena Siegfried" Eleana introduced herself.

“Well Lash, Eleana, my name is Karen Ketan, My husband’s name is Kel Ketan, and our daughter’s name is Kitty Ketan, and if my son was here I’d introduced him too!” Karen said, “Where is your son?” Mystic asked, “He’s out fishing he’ll be back soon!” Kel said coming back into the dining room and sitting down next to his wife, “He should be back by the time lunch is ready” Kel said.

Soon the front door open and in walked a snowy white haired kid who looked half the height of Lash, wearing a dark green cap backward with lock of hair covering some of his nose, yellow eyes with his facial expression looked like a dead fish, a green singlet with a yellow smiley face on it, the smiley face had a razor sharp teeth with blood on it, a blood stain on the right cheek and a scar between the eyes, black headphones with skulls on each head piece, dark blue shorts with black and white checkers on the edge of the leggings, blue sock, black lace-up sneakers, and dark blue gloves with metal cuffs.

The kid had a bag filled with fish in his right hand while holding a fishing rod in his left, “Mum, Dad I’m home!” the kid said with a monotone voice, “Welcome home son” Karen said a smile on her face, “ I didn’t think she could smile!” Lash whispered to Mystic and Eleana and the two nodded in agreement, “Well let me introduce you to my son! Lash and Mystic meet Vencen, and despite his height he’s actually 15 years old” Karen said, “Well me and Vencen met yesterday” Mystic said, “Hi!” Vencen greeted but his facial expression remained the same, “Hi” Lash said, "Hello" Eleana said with a sweet tone of voice.

Soon Kitty walked into the room carrying seven bowls of noodles, “Welcome home little brother!” Kitty greeted he brother with a smile, once everyone was seated everyone began to eat their lunch.

“So you three what are your plans?” Kel asked, “Well we’re originally going to find this guy *hands Kel the picture of Mandy’s son which was surprisingly dry* but now since we’ve been separated from the others we going to look for them as well!” Lash said, “How many of them?” Kel asked, “Four! Zade, Zyker, Nevau and Lyra!” Eleana replied, Kel handed Lash the picture back, "So you three were separated from your friends when the ship you were on exploded?" Kel asked and the three nodded, Vencen finished his lunch and went to go unpack the fish into the freeza, “So when will you two be off?” Kel asked, “I guess tonight, if that’s not a problem Mystic and Eleana?” Lash said, “No problem at all!” Mystic smiled and Eleana shook her head signalling that there was no problem on her part.

“Well then I’ll pack your bags!” Kel said with his carefree smile he then got off his chair and walked off, once he came back he was holding up three bags in his left hand and passed it to the three, “Thank you for everything you’ve done!” Mystic thanked Kel and Karen but before they left the house, “Wait!” Vencen voice yelled out, he ran into the living room carrying a bag, “What are you doing Vencen?” Karen asked, “Mom, Dad if it’s okay with you I’d like to travel with Lash, Mystic and Eleana, please” Vencen said, Karen looked hesitant for as if she was going to say no but looked into Vencen’s eyes and saw the same determination that she once had when she was younger before she met Kel, “Very well, but…” Karen said and she placed a hand on Lash’s shoulder, “Lash I’m entrusting my baby boy to you and if I find out he’s been harmed in any way…I’ll hunt you down and make you wish you were never born! Got it?” Karen whispered the last phrase to Lash menacingly, Lash gulped and nodded, “Good” Karen smiled, “Well good luck little brother” Kitty said, she and Vencen then hugged each, “Well son I’d kinda knew this day would please be careful” Kel said placing his hand on his son’s shoulder, “Good luck, my baby boy, and if you ever feel homesick you can come home!” Karen said hugging her son and kissing him on the forehead, "I'll be fine mum, I've been practicing with my sword for the last few years!" Vencen smile, once that was over the four waved goodbye and walked down the path.

“Hey Vencen?” Lash called to Vencen, “Yeah?” Vencen replied, “Your mother wasn’t serious about that threat right?” Lash asked, Vencen said nothing but just whistled, "Aw... crap!” Lash gulped, “Hey Vencen do you have a weapon to protect yourself with?” Eleana asked, “Yeah I do” Vencen he held out his right arm and giant sword appeared in his hand twice the size of Vencen, he rested the blade on his shoulder with little ease, “Whoa that’s a big sword!” Lash said with both awe and shock and Eleana whistled, the four then continued walking down the path to unknown territory of Soncosa.

Elsewhere; a member of the assassins of the scorpion cried out in pain as he collapsed to the ground with a large slash mark on his torso, he felt a shadow loom over his body and looked up to see a man with a white hooded coat standing over him, “Where is it!” the man demanded, “Where’s what?” the assassin asked, “You know what I mean! Now where are they!” the man demanded once again, “I don’t know what you mean!” the assassin said.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with two symbols on it, the assassin recognized the symbols immediately, “So you are looking for those! Well you’re a fool to think I’ll tell where they are! I’d rather die!” the assassin yelled, “Then so be it, I’ll just find another one of your members to tell where they are!” the man hissed he then pulled out a rapier and stabbed the assassin in the heart and walked away into the trees.


	21. Four on three fight!

The next day, the group was walking along the road and Vencen’s hometown was a black outline in the distance, “Hey Lash, something’s been bothering me ever since yesterday” Vencen said, “Hmm?” Lash replied, “What happened to the lower half of your right arm?” Vencen asked, “Uh… well I… I got it stuck it something sharp and well… ha ha ha!” Lash tried his best to lie, Vencen raised an eyebrow not convinced at the answer he received, ‘Man I’m bad at lying sometimes!’ Lash thought to himself while scratching his chin, Mystic and Eleana was walking ahead of the two, “Hey you two if you don’t pick up the pace or we're going to leave you two behind!" She shouted at the two, “Yes ma’am!” Vencen said sarcastically as he and Lash rushed to catch up with Mystic and Eleana.

Soon Vencen and Mystic were sitting on meadow a little bit away from the road, while Lash who wanted to test some of his abilities of his dragon-human form in his human form went hunting for some food, “While we’re waiting for Lash, I’ll cook up some fish!” Vencen said impaling some fish on stake and placing it over the fire while turning it, “Are the fish gutted?” Eleana asked, “Yeah I gutted them last night!” Vencen said, “So where are the guts?” Mystic asked, “Probably devoured by wild animals by now” Vencen replied as he carefully cooked the fish, after they were cook to his liking he took the fish off the stake and passed some to Mystic and Eleana.

Lash dashed through the trees in his human form as he had pick up a scent of a boar, but suddenly someone attacked him, Lash quickly pulled back to avoid the attack, “You’re quick!” the attacker said, Lash could see that the attacker was a woman who was probably in her mid-twenties, short maroon hair, sky blue eyes and a very revealing outfit, consisting of a short sleeveless shirt, shorts barely reaching to the knees and black boots, “Who are you?” Lash asked, the woman smiled “Me? Well my name is… Marge!” Marge answered.

“How long is Lash gonna take?” Vencen asked, “I don’t know should we go look for him?” Mystic asked, Vencen nodded and the three packed up their gear and went to look for Lash.

Marge threw four kunai at Lash, Lash avoided them but was blown backwards by an explosion, he regain his footing and fired a fireball from his mouth at Marge, she avoided it and threw four more explosive kunai at Lash again causing an explosion when they hit the ground after Lash had dodged them.

“Explosions!?” Mystic asked when she, Vencen and Eleana heard the sounds of explosion dead ahead, “What is he doing? He better be fighting someone or Smokey the bear is gonna kill him” Eleana said, as the three ran towards the sounds of explosion, two men dropped out from the tree ahead of them and landed in front of the three both, men wore only pants held up by a string and sandals, they had dark skin and cleanly shaven heads.

“Go no further!” one of the men said, “Who are you two?” Eleana asked, “My name is Billy” Billy answered, “And my name is… Tiffany!” Tiffany answered, “That’s… a very masculine name” Vencen said to Tiffany with a sweat drop on his forehead, “Shouldn’t be its a woman’s name!” Tiffany replied, “Okay… I don’t know how to talk to you!” Vencen said.

Lash kept avoiding Marge’s kunai but he couldn’t avoid the explosion when the kunai hit the ground, but he kept regaining his footing and fired fireballs at Marge, she kept avoiding every fireball thrown at her, “Not bad boy! But you can’t keep attacking me with those fiery balls of yours?” Marge asked rushing towards Lash and slapping a rectangular piece of paper on his chest which exploded seconds latter once Marge had gotten away from the blast zone.

Vencen and Eleana fought with Tiffany while Mystic fought Billy, Tiffany fought with metal knuckles while Billy fought with a broadsword, Vencen blocked Tiffany’s fist with his over sized sword he called Liongar and Eleana got behind Tiffany and spun around while holding her chain-sickles, Tiffany jump to the side to avoid the attacks and Vencen axe kicked Tiffany who stumbled backwards rubbing his head, Vencen swung his sword but Tiffany landed on his sword, “You swing this sword with much ease but it is big and slow and easy for me to do THIS!” Tiffany yelled kicking Vencen in the cheek and then back handing Eleana into a nearby tree.

Mystic and Billy’s swords clashed, Mystic held out her left hand and lifted a medium sized rock without touching it and threw it at Billy’s head, Billy quickly ducked and struck Mystic in the chin with his left palm, Mystic quickly regain balance and tripped Billy over by swept kicking his legs.

Lash walked out of the smoke cloud, luckily he was still in his dragon-human form and his bandages on his right arm were still intact, “Good thing I'm in my beast-form!” Lash said to himself, Lash felt three searing hot blades slash his right cheek and blood began to steep out, Lash grunted in pain once he felt the burning-like pain, “That must hurt?” Marge said smiling, Lash painful frown turned into a confident smirk and he started rushing towards Marge, ‘Alright I somehow preformed this attack during my fight with Cyber, maybe I can do it again!’ Lash said to himself as he leaped into the air just above Marge and tried to punch her, “Hellbreaker!” Lash yelled, Marge quickly avoided the attack and when Lash’s right fist collided with the ground, the attack formed a crater in the ground sending bits of ground, dirt and rocks everywhere, Lash felt a incomparable pain rush through his arm and he felt his fight arm go numb, Marge took this as an opportunity and kangaroo kicked Lash into a nearby tree.

Vencen collided with a nearby tree after being kicked by Tiffany and dropping his sword, but he quickly regained focus and landed on his feet, “Okay screw this, time to show him what I’m capable of!” Vencen growled, he then slammed his right palm on the damp forest grass, and he began to chant as the leaves, grass, ground and wood began to circle around in a small whirlwind and finally took shape of a woman whose body and head was made out of darken somewhat rotting looking wood, dark green grass for hair, leaves covered her shoulders and bits of her fingers and her arms and feet, her eyes were glowing red orbs.

“You called Master?” the dark dryad asked Vencen, her voice was sweet and mature but was also distorted when she spoke, Tiffany was soon in Vencen’s sight, “Yes, see that man coming this way?” Vencen asked the dark dryad while pointing at Tiffany, “Yes Master!” the dark dryad replied, “He’s our enemy! So sick em'!” Vencen commanded and the dark dryad obeyed without question and he went to help Eleana up.

Mystic stood back up after tripping Billy over and picked up her sword, Billy got back and smiled while running towards her, Mystic impaled her sword into the ground and with deep concentration lifted up a numerous amount rocks and made them form a giant bolder the size of the biggest tree and dropped it on Billy, “This is going to hurt!” Billy yelled as the giant boulder landed and crushed him, “Yup… that… hurt!” Billy grunted in pain.

Lash kicked Marge in the gut after he got back up on his feet and his right arm was no longer numb and formed the beach ball sized fireball and threw it at her, Marge didn’t have any time to recover nor the time to dodge as the fireball engulfed her and exploded, Lash clicked his neck and began to walk away but Marge’s voice called out to him, “It’s not over yet boy!” Marge growled, walking out of the smoke cloud her clothes were still intact, Lash didn’t look all that surprised that she survived his giant fireball, but to Lash’s shock, Marge’s body began to change, her lower half became a spider’s abdomen and legs, her human torso became muscular, her arms turned into that of a spider’s tendril while her fingers became claw-like, and her eyes bulged out becoming too big for her head and six tiny red eyes opened up on her forehead as well and her mouth ripping open and spider-like fangs appeared.

“You look terrified boy, is something about my beast form that terrifies you?” Marge asked in a raspy voice, Lash tried to stop himself from shaking, “I’m a Jorōgumo; a spider-woman… I see you’re terrified of spiders aren’t you!” Marge chuckled as she took a step closer to Lash, Lash still shaking but ge took a deep breath, ‘Okay… calm down, she’s only a spider on the lower and you took down a spider-person the last time, all you have to do is focus on the human half!” Lash said to himself, Lash then found a new strength of courage focused and focused on Marge's human half.

The dark dryad made quick work of Tiffany, but Tiffany’s form began to change his body became muscular his lower half and head changed into that of a bull and he pulled out an axe and sliced the dark dryad in half, the dark dryad exploded into tiny bits of grass, ground, wood and leaves and then he turned his attention onto Vencen and Eleana, his eyes were blood red eyes filled with rage, “So he’s a Minotaur!” Vencen said as he observed Tiffany, Vencen took a deep breath and exhale as a single jet-black wing sprouted from his shoulder blades and half of his body turned into a dark green and black armor like form while the other half remain the same.

Eleana looked amazed and took a breathe and began to transform, her appearance changed into that of harpy but still retain he looks, her skin turned a sky blue, her hair colored was red, and mint green feathers and sky blue eyes, and her hands had turned into claws with feathers of her arms.

the two then grabbed their weapons and charged towards the Minotaur, Tiffany swung his axe but the flew into the air and both axe kicked him breaking off both his horn and Eleana then charged up a large amount of wind and blew Tiffany into a nearby rock while Vencen using his only wing sprayed a wave of razor sharp feathers towards Tiffany.

Billy emerged from the rubble and stared at Mystic, Mystic noticed his lower body change into that of a horse, but still maintain his human form on the upper half, a quill full of arrows appeared on his back and a bow appeared his right hand, “A Centaur!” Mystic said, Mystic then smiled confidently and her body change, her skin turned dark purple, her hair was still hot pink and her eyes were still leaf green, her ears became pointed, and her clothes changed, her skirt turned into blue kung foo pants held up by a belt, her hoodie turned into a dark pink bra and her gloves still remained the same, “A dark elf!” Billy said as he smiled and galloped towards Mystic.

Marge flung a string of web which tied itself around Lash’s right forearm but Lash grabbed the web and spun around before throwing the spider-woman at a tree, Marge landed on the tree and jumped at Lash, Lash clenched his right fist and rushed towards the Spider-woman, “Hellbreaker!” Lash shouted once he punched the Spider-woman in the gut and sending her back at the tree, the force of the impact caused the tree to topple over with a loud thud and Lash once again felt the same pain but it was wasn't as bad as the last time.

Tiffany roared in pain as the razor sharp feathers struck him but he got up and charge towards the two, Vencen then fired a magical bolt at Tiffany which paralyzed the Minotaur and allowed Eleana to command a slightly weak and small tornado to spin Tiffany around and throw through sixteen trees which toppled over with loud thuds, "Impressive" Vencen commented which made Eleana blush and smile.

Mystic grabbed the arrow fired from the Centaur’s bow and grabbed a large branch with her telekinesis and flung it at his head knocking him over and fired the arrows back at Billy, Billy quickly got up and avoided the arrows.

“ENOUGH!!!” Marge screamed and she charged at Lash, Lash spat onto the ground, ‘Alright let’s try this!’ Lash said to himself, "PHOENIX BLAST!!!" He yelled as he held out his right hand and fired a beam of electric blue and dark purple energy, Marge managed to avoid it and the beam hit the ground far behind the Spider-woman and caused a massive explosion which destroyed the surrounding trees, Marge turned to the explosion before turning back to Lash sweat dripping down her face, Lash had collapsed to his knees exhausted from the attack, ‘I-I think it’s time to retreat!’ Marge said to herself afraid that if she attack him now he would retaliate with that same beam attack at point blank range, “W-well this has been fun but I have to go now take care of yourself!” Marge said her voice shaking and her lips trembling, she threw a smoke bomb down at the ground and vanished when the smoke cloud faded.

Tiffany and Billy's ears twitched and got back up after Mystic, Vencen and Eleana had knocked them to the ground a few times, the three were still prepared to fight again despite being exhausted, but to their surprise the two men threw down some smoke bombs and vanished when the smoke clouds faded.

The sighed in relief and caught up with each other while still in their beast forms, the three were then approached by Lash who was still in his dragon-form, “What’s up guy!” Lash asked exhausted.

A few hours later, the four had reached an Inn after making it to a town before dark, “I’m surprised the Inn keeper let us in despite us being in out beast forms” Lash asked while slowly eating a large plate of chicken, “Well this is Arcadia so…” Mystic trailed off, Vencen was eating a plate of boar with twenty three plates next to him to Eleana's amazement, once the three had finished they retired to their rooms after changing back to their human forms for good night’s sleep.

Elsewhere; the hooded man stood on a cliff while looking at the wreckage of the ship he had destroyed a few days ago which was being investigated by a team of people looking for survivors, he felt three presences and turned around to see Marge, Tiffany and Billy kneeling behind him.

"Master forgive us but we have failed in killing those four like you asked!" Marge said, "They were too strong for us master!" Tiffany said, "Despite keeping them apart while fighting them!" Billy said, "I see..." the hooded man said placing a hand on his chin, "Very well I'll forgive you three for your failure but I'll be sending you to help an old acquaintance of mine!" the hooded man said, "Where will we find this... acquaintance of yours master?" Marge asked, "Go far to the north of Soncosa in the mountain terrain and you'll spot a tower that reeks of death that's where you'll find him, he will be very grateful of you help!" the hooded man explained.

"Then we'll head there immediately! Come on boys!" Marge said and she and the two men headed north to the mountain terrain while the hooded man continued to look over the wreckage of the ship.


	22. Ruby Sapphire

In the town of Gentario; a girl named Ruby ran down the street laughing her butt off from her latest prank on the store manager, Ruby Sapphire, was 16 years old, she had long ruby red hair with two strands of hair that pointed from her crown tied in pig tails, sapphire blue eyes, she wore a blue t-shirt, black knee length shorts and black sneakers.

She turned a corner and hid behind a building, “RUBY!!! Where the hell is that little...!” the store manager snarled looking around for Ruby, but Ruby saw a shadow loom over her and she saw… “GRANDPA!!!” Ruby screamed, Ruby’s grandpa had short grey hair but was bald on the top, sapphire blue eyes, he wore a black dress shirt, black dress pants and black dress up shoes, he scowled at Ruby and grabbed her arm and dragged her out of her hiding spot.

“I’m sorry!” Ruby apologized to the store manager, “I’m sorry Gary that Ruby did this” Ruby’s grandpa apologized, “No problem! But I think you should teach your Granddaughter to respect her elders Jack!” Gary sighed, “And that’s what I'll do when we get home! Now come along young Lady! You are in huge trouble!” Jack ordered Ruby, “Yes grandpa...” Ruby said weakly and two headed home.

“Ruby why do you do this?” Jack asked his Granddaughter in a polite tone, “I thought it would be fun!” Ruby replied, “And you think making a mess in his store is fun?” Jack asked, Ruby nodded quietly, “Ruby! Me and Gary are old friends, he’s only accept you apology out of our friendship! I know it has been hard since your parent died but that doesn't mean you have to play terrible pranks on others” Jack said, Ruby said nothing, “I swear young lady you going to get on someone’s bad side and they’ll find a way to harm you if not physically to you, then to the ones around you!” Jack said, Ruby didn’t reply, Jack sighed and opened the door of their house and walked in.

“Welcome home pops!” Clarence; Ruby's uncle welcomed the two home while he was cleaning the lounge, Clarence, was a tall sleek man with black hair, he wore round lenses glasses, and wore a black t-shirt, red jeans and black dress shoes.

“Thank you Clarence” Jack smiled, Ruby scoffed, “And welcome home to you too Ruby” Clarence said, Ruby stomped off upstairs and Jack and Clarence could hear a door slam, “Another prank on Gary?” Clarence asked, “Aye! I don’t know what to do with her Clarence” Jack sighed resting his forehead on his hand, “Well dinner will be ready soon Jack” Clarence said walking into the kitchen.

“Stupid Grandpa what does he know!” Ruby screamed into her pillow, once she had calm down she laid on her bed staring up onto her ceiling, “I wish something interesting would just happen” Ruby whispered to herself, she heard a knock on her door and heard Clarence telling her it was dinner time, "I'm coming!" Ruby said and walked downstairs.

Ruby, Jack and Clarence sat at the table eating their dinner in silence, once dinner was finished Ruby went back up to her room and hours later Jack went to his room for sleep while Clarence did the dishes before going to sleep.

In the morning, Ruby got up and dressed herself before heading downstairs to have breakfast, “Where are you going Ruby?” Clarence asked when he saw Ruby walk out the front door, he was sweeping the curve, “I’m going to play in the fields outside of town!” Ruby replied, “Okay just be careful, I heard rumors of a saber tooth tiger in the area” Clarence warned as he waving goodbye to Ruby before continuing his task.

In the fields Ruby watched the fish in a nearby stream jump out of the water and birds flying in the morning sky, She closed her eyes as the peaceful sound of bird ran in her ears with their wings beating as they flew by and songs as they rested in the tress, But then she hear the sound of feet beating across the ground and she opened her eyes and saw a saber tooth tiger heading in her direction Ruby began to panic, but to her relief the beast leaped over her, not caring that she was there, Ruby then heard three more footsteps and saw four people.

One of them was a male with dark blonde hair tied up in a low ponytail, he had icy blue eyes with a white jagged line below his left eye, he had three red jagged scars on his right cheek and pale skin, he wore a black sleeveless hoodie with capital L on the front with points on the L making it look sorta like a Z, he wore dark blue jeans, black sneakers, black elbow length gloves with a red line that ran down to the middle finger, and his right arm up to the elbow was bandaged up.

One of woman to his right, had hot pink hair that reach to her waist, leaf green eyes, she had a slightly large chest (that made Ruby feel kind of jealous), she wore a dark pink hoodie, a blue skirt, black sneakers, and purple wrists gloves.

The other girl had elbow length wheat blonde hair and icy blue eyes, with a heart shape hair pin and hair had curled up near the ears and a lock of hair overlapping her left shoulder and slightly pale skin, she wore a a light blue button-up sleeveless blouse, lime green knee-length skirt, shoulder length fingerless lavender purple gloves, and knee length lace-up dark blue boots, and a very large bust.

And the last one was a short kid roughly around Ruby's height with snowy white hair covered by a dark green hat that was worn backwards and a lock of hair covering his nose, bright yellow eyes, headphone with a skull head on each headpiece around his neck, a dark green singlet with a bloody smiley face on it, blue shorts with black and white checkers on the end of the leggings, black sneakers and blue fingerless gloves with metal cuffs.

They ran past Ruby, “Hey get back here!” the dark blonde male yelled, as the four ran after the saber tooth tiger, “I think I’ve seen those four around town lately… I should see what they’re going to do!” Ruby smiled and quickly followed the mysterious people.

When she heard the sound of fighting she hid behind a rock and peeked over to see the fight, “Lash look out!” the pink haired girl yelled out to the dark blonde man, Lash dodged it and kicked the tiger in the back, Ruby noticed that his leg ignited into flames, “Alright Vencen he’s all yours!” Lash shouted to the white haired kid, Vencen pulled out a sword that Ruby noted was too big for him too swing, but too her surprise Vencen swung it with ease, the tiger leaped backwards but Vencen’s sword chipped both its teeth and sent it into the air, "Eleana send it hurling towards Mystic" Vencen told Eleana, Eleana charged up a large gust of wind and sent the saber tooth towards Mystic, “Mystic finish it off!” Eleana yelled at the pink haired girl, Mystic leaped into the air and did a drop kick breaking the tiger’s neck and then decapitated its head with her katana.

“Alright we’re done!” Vencen said making sure the tiger was dead, once he was sure he hurled it over his shoulders, “So remind me again why we’re doing this?” Lash asked, “Because you and Vencen spent all our money buying fizzy drinks!” Mystic said with an annoyed tone, “Oh… Well... I regret nothing!” Lash replied with Mystic sighing in response, “Hey if you two are done, there’s someone watching us behind that rock!” Vencen said pointing at the rock Ruby was hiding behind.

“Oh… Crapbaskets!” Ruby muttered, but before she could get away, Lash, Vencen,Mystic and Eleana appeared in front of her, “So who are you?” Eleana asked, Ruby gulped before answering, “M-my name is Ruby Sapphire, and you four are?” Ruby replied with Lash, Vencen, Mystic and Eleana just staring at her, “I’m Mystic, this is Lash, Vencen and Eleana, now if you excuses us we got a request to complete, so bye!” Mystic waved goodbye after introducing herself and the others.

The four walked away with the dead saber tooth over Vencen’s shoulders, Ruby sighed with relief, and collapsed onto her knees, “I-I think it’s time to go home!” Ruby muttered.

Ruby walked through the streets of town, the sun was setting and people were returning home, “Ruby! Ruby!” Gary voice called out to her, “What do you want?” Ruby demanded when she saw the store manager run up to her, “There’s trouble! Your house is on fire!!!” Gary told her, Ruby’s eyes widened and she immediately ran to her house with the store manager close behind, behind a building out of sight was Lash, “Sounds like trouble!” Lash said, “And you’re going to see if you can help aren’t you?” Eleana asked while putting some gold coins into a pouch, “Coming?” Lash asked, “Yeah” Eleana replied, “We'll come along too!” Vencen and Mystic said, “Then let’s go, since we finished our job!” Lash said, the four chased after Ruby and the store manager.

Once Ruby and Gary reached Ruby’s house, they saw it was being ransacked by bandits, “Grandpa!!!” Ruby yelled running into the building, “Ruby wait!!!” Gary yelled and tried to run after to her but four bandits appeared out of nowhere their swords pointing at Gary’s throat, just then four people, a dark blonde teen, a hot pink haired girl, a snowy white haired kid and a wheat blonde girl, appeared behind Gary and knocked out the bandits, “Are you okay?” Eleana asked Gary, “Y-yes, but please help Ruby and her Grandfather and Uncle!” Gary said, the four nodded and told Gary to get away safely before heading into the building.

“Grandpa!!! Grandpa!!! Where are you!” Ruby yelled as the wall around her collapse due to the fire, “Ruby I’m over here!” Jack yelled, Ruby ran into the living room to see Jack sitting against the wall his hand covering a red mark on his dress shirt with, Ruby ran up to her Grandpa, “Grandpa are you okay?” Ruby asked, “I’m fine Ruby” Jack said with a weak smile, “Where’s Uncle? Shouldn’t he be helping you or at least trying to stop the fire?” Ruby asked, “Ruby... Clarence… is dead!” Jack said pointing to Clarence's corpse, Ruby eyes widen with sadness and close to tears, she never liked her uncle but he was family and now that he was dead Ruby couldn't help but shed a few tears, suddenly two knives buried itself into Jack's left shoulder, and kneecaps, Ruby turned around to see the leader of the bandits standing in the doorway holding a curved saber.

“Well! Well! Well! What do we have here!” the bandit said, “W-who are you!?” Ruby demanded her eye filled with tears, “Doesn't matter who I am brat! I'm just here to get something for my client that you're family has hid here in this house!” the bandit replied, “And now I have what I want… It’s time to clean up some loose ends!” the bandit smirked taking a step forward towards Ruby and Jack, Ruby wiped away her tears and summoned a leather whip and held ready to defend herself, “Put that away girl you don’t know how to use it!” the bandit smirked.

Ruby growled as she swung the blade trying to prove he was wrong, the bandit leaped into the air and kicked Ruby in the cheek, “Ruby! RUN NOW!!!” Jack yelled at his granddaughter as he quickly got up and tackled the bandit, Ruby got back up still ready to defend herself and her grandfather, the bandit scoffed and knocked Jack to the ground, and ran towards Ruby down as he lifted his blade in the air, Ruby clenched her eye tight waiting for the inevitable but Lash intercepted and punched the bandit in the stomach while yelling Hellbreaker, Ruby looked up to see Lash, “Wait! You’re…” Ruby said trying to remember Lash’s name, Lash looked at her and a gave her a small smirk, “Where are you friends?” Ruby asked, “Taking care of the bandit leader's lackeys!” Lash simply replied.

The bandit got back up onto his feet, blood dripping from his mouth he charged at Lash yelling like a maniac, “Get you and your granddad out of here! I’ll take care of this guy!” Lash ordered Ruby, Ruby hesitated she hated being told what to do by strangers but in this situation she had no choice, she lifted her grandpa with all her might and ran out of the building, Lash pulled out his sword Fenrir and dashed at the bandit with their blades clashing.

Ruby sat outside sobbing on the now deceased body of her grandfather, who didn’t make it, because of the poison in the bandit leader’s knives, “Sorry about your Granddad!” Eleana said walking up to Ruby and placing a hand on her shoulder, “S-shut up!” Ruby sobbed, after awhile once Ruby had calm down and Eleana sat down next to Ruby, the two then saw Lash walk out of the building as the fire began to die with some soot on him and carrying Ruby's uncle's corpse over his shoulders, “Hey...” Ruby said, “What?” Lash replied, “Did you confiscate the item that bandit took from my family, Lash shook his head and told her before he could take the item, a hooded man took it and vanish.

After that the five gave Jack and Clarence a proper burial while Ruby cried into Eleana's arms, Gary said his farewells to his old friend and offered the five to stay at his house tonight.

The next day, “Are you sure about this” Mystic asked Eleana once they were on the outskirts of Gentario city, “What could I do, she had nowhere to go, and plus I have a feeling, she might want revenge against the hooded guy with or without us. Plus it might get interesting and I think we could teach her to fight?” Eleana explained to Mystic, as the two looked at Ruby who was giving Vencen orders, and Vencen was clearly annoyed by her orders.

“I guess so… It is nice to have another girl with us, so where do go first?” Mystic asked Lash, “Let’s find Mandy’s son first, then find that hooded man so he can give us some answers, and then find our friends!” Lash said walking off, followed by Mystic along with Vencen, Eleana and Ruby.

Elsewhere; the hooded man sat on a tree branch as he removed the cloth wrappings, once he was done a metal object no bigger than a tennis ball fell into his hand, “One down, now where are the cores!” the hooded man smiled as he looked up at the sky.


	23. Magus Lukrasta

The hooded man walked through the country side, with the metal object he received from the bandit leader's corpse, he smiled to himself, "If things keep going like this, then no one will be able to stop me!" the hooded man chuckled to himself as he placed the object into his pocket and continue walking until he stumbled across an unconscious male, with a tattered shirt, pants and shoes.

"Isn't he one of his friends?" the hooded man asked walking closer to the person, "Yes it is... *An idea forms in his head* You'll serve me well!" the hooded man chuckled maniacally as he reached his hand which was now glowing a dim grey closer to the person. 

Lash, Mystic, Vencen and Eleana were awoken suddenly by a shrill scream, the four left their tents into the cold night, "Who screamed?" Lash asked feeling drowsy, "It wasn't me!" Mystic replied, "I think it might of been Ruby!" Vencen wiping the sleep from his eyes, no sooner had he spoken Ruby rushed out of her tent, yelling ew and swiping something of her arms, "Are you okay?" Mystic asked, "No! I'M not okay, I woke up to see bugs in my tents! Dirty little creatures!" Ruby spat, Mystic and Eleana sighed, while Vencen face palmed himself in annoyance, and Lash was too tired to care, "Is that all?" Lash asked yawning.

"Well I saw a silhouette of some creature, I think it might of been a giant spider!" Ruby shivered, when Lash heard the the words giant spider, he snapped full awake and his eyes widened with fear, Vencen and Mystic notice this, "How may legs did it have?" Mystic asked, "I think I counted four legs and a tail and triangular ears and I think whiskers!" Ruby said recounting her memory, Lash sighed with relief while Mystic and Vencen sighed in annoyance, and Eleana just went back into her tent, "Ruby! That wasn't a giant spider... that was a cat, probably a stray!" Mystic sighed with annoyance, "Oh! Well I feel quite stupid now!" Ruby said, "Yeah and even if it was a giant spider it would've leaped onto Lash's face!" Vencen said which Lash responded with a whack to Vencen's head, "look lets just go back to sleep alright!" Mystic sighed stepping on both Lash and Vencen's feet, "Yes ma'am!" the two said weakly, "Okay!" Ruby said and everyone returned to their tents. 

In the morning; Vencen made every one breakfast and after that they packed their gear up and headed off, "Alright next town we get to, we should ask if they've seen Mandy's son!" Mystic said to the others, Lash was wearing, his black sleeveless hoodie with the large L on it, his black trench coat was in his bag,, his blue jeans, black leather shoes, and black gloves, his hair was tied up in high ponytail this time and his ski goggles.

Mystic, Vencen and Eleana wore their casual clothes, while Ruby was now wearing, a green t-shirt with a lion head on it, and black shorts with white sneakers.

"Why are we looking for him?" Ruby asked, Eleana explained to her, how she, Lash and their missing friends mysteriously arrived on Acadia and how they believe Mandy's son might help them, "And how'd you meet these two?" Ruby asked, "Well its a long story on how me and Lash met!" Mystic replied, "After the shipwreck, I was fishing with my Dad, when these three washed up on shore after their shipwreck, we were surprised when we found them still alive and a few days after they woke up I decided to travel with them!" Vencen replied, "So Lash, Eleana you're not from here? Then where are you two from?" Ruby asked, "Well we're from Earth" Eleana replied, "And what's Earth like?" Ruby asked, "Its meh!" Lash replied, "Why?" Ruby asked, "Okay can we stop with the questions and move on!" Lash growled, "Fine!" Ruby sighed, the group continued walking in silence until...

"Hey Mystic and Vencen!" Ruby called to the two,"What?" Mystic replied, "Did Lash and Eleana tell you this?" Ruby asked, the two nodded in response, just then the group were surrounded by twenty armored skeletons, "Where'd they come from?!" Ruby asked shocked, "Who knows! But we're going to have to fight them I bet!" Lash said summoning his sword Fenrir, Mystic summoned her two-bladed katana, Vencen summoned his sword Liongar, he also slammed his palm on the ground and the ground shook and earth golem made from black soil, dark grey pebbles and dead grass erupted from the ground from where Vencen placed his palm, the golem look at the skeleton with its beady dark green eyes knowing full well that they were its enemies, Eleana pulled out her chain-sickles and Ruby gulped and summoned her whip and held it with shaky hands.

The skeletons were the first to attack, two of them charged at Lash and Lash swung his blade slashing the skeleton vertically, the skeletons turned into dust. five rushed towards Mystic stopped them with her telekinesis and smashed them into each causing them to explode into a cloud of dust, Vencen and his dark earth golem were ambushed by six, Vencen disposed of three with a single swing of his sword, and his golem crushed their skulls, two charged at Ruby and Eleana and swung their swords aiming for their heads, but the two ducked and Eleana spun around slashed one into pieces while cracked her whip on top the others head destroying it.

Soon two more joined, Ruby fell over with a thud and she saw the skeletons rush towards her, she closed her eyes preparing for the end, but Lash intercepted, he had turned Fenrir into Skoll and Hati and sliced the skeletons into pieces, "Are you okay Ruby?" Lash asked, "Y-yes I'm fine" Ruby scoffed trying to sound confident, the last three appeared behind Lash but Vencen's golem threw a chunk of earth at them, "Thanks big guy!" Lash thanked the golem, the golem grunted and reverted back into the earth, "So... any idea what summon them?" Eleana asked, "By the way they died I'd say they were summoned by magic" Mystic said, "What? Like Necromancy?" Lash asked, "No! That can't be possible! I've read that three million years ago that the magic counsel had confiscated or burned book, notes and scrolls of Necromancy, the only one person who would've use magic like that in that time before it was banned; was Magus Lukrasta!" Vencen explained, "So wait, Necromancy is a lost form of Magic here?" Lash asked with Vencen nodding yes, "And who's this Magus did that book you read explain who he was?" Eleana asked, "No! It only mention his name that was all" Vencen replied.

The group stood there in silence until, "Mystic do you have any info on the town we're heading, if it has a library?" Lash asked Mystic, "The town we're heading too is called Akara city, and one of its most know buildings is a library!" Mystic said taking a look at her map, "Alright guys looks like we're on a little history lesson on this Magus guy!" Lash said with everyone nodding in agreement.

Once they reached Akara city they immediately headed into the library and Vencen asked the Librarian at the front desk if she had any books of Magus or Necromancy, the Librarian walked into the back room and came back in and gave Vencen a large book labeled; The Fallen Mage; Magus Lukrasta, Vencen thanked the Librarian and the group headed to a large table Vencen sat down with the others sitting around him.

Vencen opened up the book, Vencen began reading as we cut to a man with long white hair his back turned to us, wearing a black cape like cloak with black crow feathers on the shoulders and wielding a cross between a scythe and scepter.  
"It says here that Magus' childhood was mystery but one could believe that he was heavily inspired by magic. During his younger years he joined the college of magic in Metracita, where he studied under a powerful mage called Hilbert Leonardas and he was Leonardas' favorite pupil and taught Magus much about magic. He used a vary of magic from illusion, restoration and even destruction. However Leonardas did not teach Magus everything he knew, even though Magus was his favorite pupil and that the latter showed much talent to the arts of Magic, Leonardas saw greed and a lust for power deep within Magus' heart, and did not teach Magus about the more powerful forms of magic and even began to teach a another pupil called Alexis everything he taught Magus and much more even teaching her, even his most powerful spell." Vencen read.

"When Magus learned of his master was teaching another pupil he felt hurt and betrayed which later turned into anger and hatred when he also learned that his master taught Alexis much more than what he had been taught and even taught her his most powerful spell. Magus was kicked out of the college after getting into a fight with Alexis and the Archmage though of what he learned of his Master's "Betrayal" he did not swore vengeance on the college. And vanished without a trace until twenty years later when the first war of Arcadia begun, a mysterious army that's name is now forgotten in the sands of time suddenly appeared out of nowhere and they were lead by the mad fallen king of the Half-giants; Malverdark and to the colleges shock by the mad king's side was Magus who was Malverdark's trusted adviser. When the war was fast approaching Leonardas' pupil; Alexis decided to challenge Magus to a battle, she thought that years since his disappearance that he and she would be equals in power or if not she would be more stronger than him!" Vencen continued.

"However her overconfidence was her greatest undoing and during their battle with the fallen Mage, he had somehow learned Necromancy and an ancient form of magic known as Shadow magic which has also been lost in the sands of time. Magus quickly overpowered Alexis and slew her and entrapped her soul into her corpse so that she would serve under Malverdark's army of destruction. Soon after Malverdark and his armies was defeated, remnants of his army were being hunted down and taken into custody or killed on sight and soon all that was left was the fallen mage himself." Vencen continued as he filled over the page.

"Leonardas volunteered to kill his former student and he soon found his former pupil on a mountain to the north of Conteria in which he was both sadden and disgusted by what his former pupil had become. The two battle it out and they were both equally matched but Leonardas soon prevailed and killed his former pupil with great sadness and later with the Magic counsel assistance found Magus' lair and destroyed all of his copies, notes and failed experiments of Necromancy and Shadow magic making sure that nothing was left for any future generation to foolishly use." Vencen finished

Vencen closed the book and the group sat in silence, "So... he died but then how does that explains those Skeletons!" Mystic finally said, "Yeah! If they destroyed everything that Magus had and destroyed or sealed everything about Necromancy! Then who summoned them?" Ruby asked, "Well whoever did it is probably long gone now!" Vencen getting up, "But one thing is is for sure there is someone out there that somehow knows this magic!" he said, "Well lets go, we've got a long day tomorrow, so we'll rent out some rooms at an Inn and ask the Innkeeper if he's seen Mandy's son!" Eleana yawned the group agreed and Vencen returned the book back to the Librarian and the group headed off to the Inn.

Watching them was a shadowy figure, "Not bad! Not bad at all!" the shadowy figure smiled with glee as he watched the five head towards the Inn with piercing yellow eyes before vanishing.

The hooded man stared at the ocean as he heard the sound of metal clanging together and turned around to see a knight wearing silver armor which gleamed in the moonlight, the knight wore steel armor with the helmet covering his face and blood red cape which reached to his heels.

"Well... what did you find out?" the hooded man asked the knight, "Nothing! But I might have an idea where the items you're looking for might be my master!" the knight answered in a deep sounding voice, "And where would that be?" the hooded man asked with smile.


	24. Encounter with the Mysterious Knight

Lash sighed in boredom as he and Eleana walk down the street of Akara city, both were carrying plastic bags filled with groceries, Mystic had asked them to get some groceries from the store, the five; Lash, Mystic, Vencen, Eleana and Ruby had stayed in Akara for two days doing some small jobs and tomorrow they would leave the city and continued their journey.

Lash stopped walking and looked up at the night sky, the full moon glowing in the dark sky, Eleana stopped and looked at him, 'Zade, Nevau, Zyker and Lyra. I hope you guys are all right!' Lash mumbled to himself but before he continued walking back to the Inn he heard a meow behind him, he turned his head to see a cat sitting behind him, "Meow" the cat meowed, "Hey little guy" Lash greeted the cat, the cat got up and rubbed itself on his leg, Lash got out a medium sized fish and gave it to the cat, "Mystic wouldn't mind if I give one fish to this cat" Lash said, "Probably not" Eleana replied, the cat bit its teeth into the fish and ran off, Lash smiled to himself and the two walked back towards the Inn. 

The next day the five were on the outskirts of the city, "So... You gave a medium sized fish to a cat last night" Mystic said to Lash, "Yeah" Lash replied and Mystic sighed, as the five walked down the path, Lash mind drifted off for the last few nights Lash keep appearing in the forest where he would meet the wargs, but instead he kept seeing a giant monster looming over the forest and Lash could feel its icy blue eyes stare directly at him and a thought entered his head, before he knew the wargs names on the third night on Arcadia while he was running away from them a huge claw like finger erupted from the ground and hurled towards him and right before he woke up he could of sworn the claw pierced his chest and right before he woke at Vencen's house he tripped over the monster's tail and again right before he woke up he could've of sworn he felt the pain of impact with the tail something was defiantly weird.

How come when Skoll and Hati pounce on him on his second night on being on Arcadia he didn't feel the pain of claws digging into his flesh but when the claw and tail of the monster hit him he felt immense amount of pain, what was happening? had something else inside Lash awaken? Lash was snapped out of thought when he saw Mystic wave her hand in front of his face, "Hello! Arcadia to Lash are you there?" Mystic asked, "Uh! What!?" Lash asked in confusion, "Are you okay? You seem out of it lately" Mystic asked concerned, "Yeah I'm fine! I'm just thinking about something" Lash replied, "Well let's keep moving" Lash sighed, the five continued moving until...

Lash notice an energy slash hurling towards Mystic, "Look out!" Lash yelled shoving Mystic out of the way and quickly leaping back to avoid it, "Where DID that come from?!" Vencen asked pulling out his sword, the five heard metal footsteps and turned to where they were coming from and saw a knight welding a black and purple broadsword, "I found you! Lash!" the knight said, "Uh! Do we know each other?" Lash asked, “Hmhp! Who cares" the knight replied, "Well then how do you know my name?" Lash asked, "Why should I tell you that?" the knight replied, "Okay before you and Lash get into a fight with each other! Do you have a name we can call you by?" Mystic asked while keeping Lash in place by his shoulder, "Yes! You can call me Aragón!" Aragón replied.

"So why did you attack us?" Ruby asked, "Because my master sees you lot as pests that must be eliminated!" Aragón said reading his sword, "What did we ever do to your master?" Ruby asked, "Like I said he sees you all as possible pest that must be eliminated! NOW DIE!!!" Aragón yelled charging towards the five, they quickly avoid the attack and drew their weapons.

Aragón swung his sword at Lash but Lash ducked the swing and counter attack, however Aragón grabbed Lash's leg and threw him at Vencen, Ruby's whip wrapped around Aragón’s arm and she attempted to pull him to the ground, but Aragón grabbed her whip and swung her around a few time before sending her flying and hitting Vencen who had just got up, Mystic and Eleana attempted to strike Aragón from both sides, however he counter attacked and broke Mystic's twin blade katana and then kicked her in the gut while grabbing Eleana's leg and throwing her into Vencen, "Oh for the love of!!!" Vencen yelled annoyed and quickly getting back up.

Him and Lash then charged at Aragón with Lash having Skoll and Hati out, Aragón grabbed Vencen's sword, Lash was able to kick him in the neck but instead of Aragón feeling pain, Lash received pain from kicking metal, "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Lash said clutching his leg and hoping around, Mystic, Ruby and Eleana had gotten back up and charge at Aragón but he knocked them down, Vencen slammed his hand on the ground and the earth golem erupted from the ground and went to attack Aragón but he quickly dispatched the golem and sent an energy slash at Vencen.

 

Vencen blocked it but was knocked over due to the force of impact, Lash's leg blazed up and he tried another attempted to strike the neck, Aragón grabbed his leg and threw Lash at Mystic who had just gotten up, "I'm not even breaking a sweat! Are you guys really this weak?" Aragón asked sounding cocky, the five got up and tried to attack but were taken down every time.

"Does anyone have any ideas on how to beat this guy?" Lash asked a bit tired, "Sorry I don't have any ideas on how to beat this guy!" Vencen said, "So no one has any ideas!" Mystic panted, "Unleash everything we got on him?" Lash suggested, "Worth a shot!" the others said and the five unleashed a barrage of energy blasts at Aragón , Lash unleashing a barrage of fire, Vencen firing Magical energy, Ruby firing lightning and Mystic dropping boulders with her telekinesis, a smoke cloud began to form and rise into the sky and after an hour, Ruby firing lightning and Eleana throwing wind sickles.

Soon the five had reach their limit and collapsed onto the ground exhausted, Aragón slashed the smoke cloud his armor slightly dirty, "Not bad but now it’s time to end this!" Aragón said and knocking the five out with a repulse like attack and he began walking up to Lash and raising his sword in the air preparing to finish him off, but hand began to shake, and suddenly out of nowhere a war hammer struck Aragón in the gut cracking the area if the armor and also sending Aragón flying.

 

the mysterious person then smash their fist on the ground creating a columns of earth to rise to block off Aragón and the person then place Ruby and Vencen on their shoulders and grabbed Lash, Eleana and Mystic in their arms and ran off to safety.

Aragón got back onto his feet coughing out a bit of blood through his helmet but before he could chase after the person who hit him, "That's enough!" a voice said to Aragón, Aragón turned around to see the hooded man emerging from a black oval, "Master!" Aragón said, "I've found the next piece to what I'm searching for! Come and don't worry about those five. I'm sure you'll have another chance to finish them off!" the hooded man said and the two walked into the black oval.


	25. Patrick O'Malley

Lash groaned in pain as he woke, "You're awake now" a voice said to Lash, Lash turned his head to see who talked to him, there sitting at a table was tall man with dark purple hair with slick of hair on the back that looked like a fin, dark red eyes with a scar on the right eye, a muscular body with an X like scar on the chest, the man wore a brown trench coat with the sleeves torn off, black jeans, brown cuff boots, the man had bandages wrapped around his arms and right ankle, and he had a zodiac symbol on his right shoulder and his voice had a slight irish accent.

Lash looked around to see his friends in the same room, Mystic and Eleana were resting in the same bed, Vencen on a mat on the floor with a blanket over him and Ruby on a hammock, Lash looked on where he was resting to saw he was on a couch, then something hit Lash, the man sitting at the table looked familiar, Lash reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo that Mandy had given him, he looked at it carefully before looking at the man, "Are you Mandy's son?" Lash asked, "Yeah I am, my name is Patrick O'Malley and you are?" Patrick replied, "I'm Lash Siegfried" Lash replied, "Nice to meet you Lash! Also how do you know my mother?" Patrick asked, "It's a long story" Lash answered.

After Lash explained everything to Patrick, the others began to wake up, Patrick introduced himself, and the other did as well though Ruby was a little hesitant, "So Patrick where are we and how did we get here?" Mystic asked, "This is a cottage that I'm renting out for the time being and I save you five from a knight who was about to kill you" Patrick explained, the five drifted back to their battle with the knight Aragón and how they were outmatched by him, the five sighed heavily, "So what are you five gonna do now?" Patrick asked, "Well we're looking for my friends and then a way home and your mother said you might be able to help" Eleana replied, "Well I guess I could help but only if you help me first!" Patrick said, "What would you like help with?" Vencen asked, "Well I've been hunting down this creature called the were-bear and last I heard it was in this area!" Patrick said.

"Sound good. Lets do this!" Lash said slamming his right fist into his left palm, "Yeah but first I think you five need a change of clothes!" Patrick said, the five looked at their clothes which were tattered and nodded, "There are two changing rooms over one for boys and one for girls!" Patrick said.

Patrick waited outside for the five to finish changing, the first to walk out was Vencen, who was now wearing a green sleeveless zip-up shirt, dark blue jeans and black sneakers, he still wore his gloves with the metal cuffs, his headphones and hat.

Next was Ruby who now wore brown shorts, black boots, and a red t-shirt, then Mystic who wore a sleeveless version of her pink zip-up hoodie, her purple wrist gloves, a blue skirt and grey boots.

Eleana who wore another sleeveless button-up blouse, black shorts, black and green knee-length lace-up boots, her gloves and a lavender scar around her neck.

And finally Lash, who wore his cat eared beanie, a white button up shirt with short sleeves which was unbuttoned and he wore his sleeveless tank top underneath the shirt, his black gloves with the red line, black jeans, and his violet lace-up boots and ski goggles.

"All right we're all set then let's go!" Patrick said and walked off with the four following him.

"Do you know what a were-bear is?" Eleana asked, "It's kind of like a were-wolf but a bear" Vencen answered, "Guess it was kind of stupid of me for asking!" Eleana sighed, "Yeah I guess you're right" Vencen replied, Eleana soon began walking closer to Vencen, who seemed to notice but shrugged, "Hey Patrick any ideas or plans on how to defeat the were-bear?" Mystic asked, "Yeah! Change into you beast form! Because of its strength it will be enough to crush the life out of you in your human form!" Patrick replied, the five nodded and they began to change into their beast forms.

Lash changed into his dragon form and this time his goggles stayed but his shoes, shirt and beanie vanished, Mystic in dark elf form, Ruby transformed into a centaur, Eleana into her harpy and Vencen changed into his half-angel form, and last Patrick transformed into his beast form, he grew taller as well as his coat and shoe vanishing, his skin turned dark purple and grey, a shark fin sprouted from his back as well as a shark tail.

"Patrick what are you!?" Mystic asked shocked, "Me? I'm a Megalodon Half-giant" Patrick replied "Anyway get ready we're approaching the area where the were-bear was sighted" he said "Right!" the five replied with confidence.

Soon the six reached their destination, "Where is it?" Lash asked looking around, "Be patient Lash!" Mystic replied, "I know one way to bring it out" Patrick said, Patrick then roared at the top of his lungs after he was done the six waited for a while and soon their target arrived growling and running on all fours, it then stood up on its hind legs, its upper body looked muscular like a body builder but had the appearance if a bear, it roared and charged at the six.

Patrick charged at the bear and the two clashed into a grip trying to push each other back, Patrick pushed the bear back and punched it in the gut, Lash ran up and ignited his right leg and kicked the bear in the neck but the were-bear grabbed Lash's leg and threw him, Vencen placed a palm on the ground but instead of summoning something the ground was covered in darkness, "VIOLET PAIN!!!" Vencen yelled, and five arrow looking things flew into the air and came crashing down on the bear, the bear emerged from the smoke and fired a laser from its mouth which narrowly missed Vencen thanks to Eleana manipulating the wind to make the beam hit the ground behind them, Mystic lifted a boulder and dropped it on the bear, but it grabbed it and threw it at her, Mystic stopped it and lunged it back, Patrick punched it so its speed would increase, and Ruby cracked her whip at the boulder which also increased its speed and hit the bear directly sending shards of rock everywhere.

 

Lash got back onto his feet and threw a fireball which hit the bear in the back, Patrick ran up and lifted the bear off the ground and then slammed it onto the ground, when the bear got up Vencen ran up to it and punched it in the face with his special attack Oblivion Fist and fired razor sharp feathers at it, Eleana created a small tornado to lift the bear up and allowed Ruby to unleashed an electric volt that flowed through the small tornado, after the tornado subsided Mystic lifted the bear with her telekinesis about ten feet in the air before dropping Lash ran underneath it, and hit it with his Hellbreaker and sent the bear in the sending flying towards Patrick, he felt the pain of the recoil once again flowing through his but shook it off, Patrick grabbed the bear's ankle and with his other hand grabbed its shoulder and then slammed its back on his knee, a sickening snap was heard and when Patrick threw the bear onto the ground its body was limp, Patrick checked to make sure it was dead and nodded to the others.

"Sweet, we did it." Lash smiled as he crossed his arm, but their victory was short lived when they hear laughing and when they turned in the direction of the laughing they saw the hooded man standing on a tree while slowly clapping as he laughed, "Not bad! Not bad at all! I'd say you've gotten a little stronger!" the hooded man chuckled, "You..." Lash growled getting into a battle position, "Oh please don't waste your time! You couldn't beat back on the ship and you couldn't stop me when I got what I needed and you couldn't even beat my servant Aragón!" the hooded man snarled, "So that knight WAS your servant!" Mystic spat, "Yes indeed!" the hooded man smiled, "So why are you here?" Vencen asked, "Well see this!" the hooded man said pulling out two tennis ball sized metal spheres, "Yeah!" Ruby replied, "Well one I got from the corpse of the bandit leader back at your house and the other I received from a pathetic old fool!" the hooded man smile wickedly, Ruby gritted her teeth in anger, 'So that's the item he stole from my family!' Ruby muttered under her breathe, "And I see you killed that were-bear!" the hooded man said turning his attention at the dead were-bear, "Yeah" Eleana replied, Patrick had no idea what was going but he could sense the dangerous aura the man release along with Vencen and Ruby.

"Well..." the hooded man smiled and the two spheres in his hand glowed then floated in the air and created a grey pentagram which then fire a grey sphere at the were-bear.

The bear then sprung back to life but something was happening , its appearance was twisting and turning with sickening cracks and snaps of bones and soon the were-bear turned into a monster with six arms, exposed bones, blood dripping from its mouth and was ten feet tall, the six looked at the beast with horror and disgust.

MAGNIFICENT!!! So this is the power of the ancient golems! Anyway I must take my leave now! Oh if you survive, I'll tell you where I'm heading, I'm heading to the secret village of the Assassins of the Scorpion located somewhere in Korma forest feel free to stop me if you survive that is!" after saying this the hooded man vanished in his black oval but his maniacal laugh rang through the forest, "Tch!" Lash spat, but the six turned their attention to their real threat now, the monstrous creature that stood before them.

The creature swung its multi arms at the five however luckily for them it was slow, Ruby summoned a lightning bolt from the sky to strike the monster, when the lightning bolt hit the monster released a ear splitting cry, Eleana threw wind sickles which cut all but two of the monster's arms off, Vencen summoned spikes to strike the throat, the monster tried to attack Patrick grabbed one of its arms while Mystic grabbed the two and the two tore the remaining the arms clean off, however Mystic dropped to her knees exhausted, the monster took this chance to strike and hurled itself at Mystic with its jaws wide open, however... "HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash yelled punching the monster's lower jaw and tilting its head slightly, the monster began to struggle, Lash roared as he and the monster struggled back and forth with all their strength but soon there was a sound of flesh tearing and bones crunching and the jaw of the beast was sent hurling into the air, Lash landed on his with blood flowing down his right arm and staining his bandages, "Thank you Lash!" Mystic thanked Lash, Lash smiled back.

But victory was not theirs yet, despite its lower jaw gone and blood dripping out, the monster was not dead, and both Lash and Mystic were exhausted, the monster regrew one of its arms and grabbed both Lash and Mystic and began crushing them, however the two were not screaming in pain which gave the others a hint that the monster was tired and its strength waning, "Hey Vencen! We could use a little help here!" Lash shouted to Vencen and he wriggled in the monster's grip trying to free himself, Mystic did the same, "All right, I guess it's time to use it!" Vencen mumbled he then bit his right thumb and a trickle of blood ran down he slammed his right palm onto the ground, "Patrick! Eleana! Ruby! Keep that freak of nature off me while I do this and get Lash and Mystic free from that thing as well!" Vencen ordered the three, "What are you going to do?" Ruby asked, "I'm going to summon my most powerful summon; Skeleton King!" Vencen said.

the three rushed towards the monster as a magical circle formed underneath Vencen, the three rescue Lash and Mystic and Ruby used a powerful lightning bolt to paralyze the monster to allow Vencen to the chant the summon.

The earth then began to tremble and shake and from the ground erupted a massive skeletal arm with a black gauntlet, followed by another, which them lifted a giant skeletal body with black armor, two yellow orbs filled the empty eye sockets of a skeletal head a black crown rested on the skeleton's cranium, however the lower body remained in the ground, the monster looked up at the giant twenty foot tall skeleton which then pulled a black blade from a tear that emerged in the sky and with one swift swing brought the blade crashing down on the monster, the skeleton king then vanish into thin air, Vencen collapse onto one knee from exhaustion but Eleana help him up and noticed the bite mark on his thump was healed completely.

Lash walked to where the monstrous bear last stoop and looked around, "So where's the body?" Lash asked, "The skeleton king turned it into dust which by now should be scattered in the wind!" Vencen replied, "Well now that's finally done let's head back to the cottage!" Patrick said, the six returned back into their human forms and headed towards the cottage.

Once back at the cottage the six began to discuss their next move, "Well now that I'm a part of your group, what are we going to do next?" Patrick asked, "We're going to Korma forest, to try and stop that guy and whatever he's planning I have a bad feeling about it!" Eleana said, "Yeah, he also mention something the ancient golems!" Patrick said, "Know something about them Patrick?" Mystic asked, "Yes, I'll tell you what I know" Patrick said he then began to explain what he knew about the ancient golems and after that the five agreed that first thing in the morning they'll head off to Korma village to stop this hooded man and whatever he's planning.

Elsewhere; Shade clashed with Aragón, their weapon sent spark flying into the sky, Shade was minding his own business and suddenly he was attacked by Aragón who came out of nowhere, and somehow the knight even knew who Shade was, their battle ended when Aragón delivered the finishing blow and Shade collapse onto the ground Aragón then stepped into a black oval that appeared out of nowhere and vanished leaving Shade to drown in a pool of his own blood.


	26. Insight on the beast transformation

Shade groaned in pain, ‘Why is my body so heavy? Am I finally dead?’ Shade said to himself, he slowly opened his eyes to see… “Hi!” Patrick said his face very close to Shade’s, Shade screamed in fright as he began forcing Patrick back with his feet, “Ah yes! I’d say you’ll make a full recovery!” Patrick said leaning his face closer, Shade kicked Patrick back, “Hey Mystic! You wanted me to tell you if he’s awake… well he’s awake!” Patrick yelled, “Get the hell of me ya freak!” Shade growled finally kicking Patrick back and into a wall, “Hey wait a minute… where am I?” Shade asked looking around, he remembered fighting a knight named Aragón who somehow knew him, “So you’re awake!” Mystic said walking into the room, “Mystic!” Shade said when he saw Mystic.

Once Shade had gotten slightly better, Mystic explained how she and the others found Shade laying down in a pool of his blood and with Shade explaining that he fought a knight named Aragón, he also noticed the slight hint of annoyance in the groups’s eyes, “Anyway where are Zyker, Lyra, Zade and Nevau? And who’s the kids and that Purple haired creep?” Shade asked, Mystic began to explain to Shade what happened to the others while introducing Vencen, Ruby and Patrick.

“Damn didn't think things were going this badly!” Shade mumbled, “What do you mean, you know anything about those spheres?” Mystic asked, “Not really, when the members of the assassins of the scorpions came up to me, they told me they needed help looking for these metal sphere with the symbols for Alpha and Omega on them and when I asked why all they said was that they weren’t allowed to fall into the wrong hands and just recently I heard that five of their members were found dead!” Shade explained, “It’s got to be that hooded man’s doing!” Ruby spat, “Yeah! But why is he looking for them? I know he mentioned the ancient golems, but no one would be stupid and reckless enough to awaken them!” Vencen said, “Who knows, but we’ve got to stop him!” Eleana said with everyone nodding in agreement.

“Hey Shade do you know where Korma forest is or where the village is located?” Eleana asked, “No sorry!” Shade replied, “Well we better get going, we aren’t going to find Korma by sitting around!” Patrick said, “Are you going to be okay Shade?” Mystic asked, “Yeah, thanks for helping me guys” Shade thanked, “No problem” Lash replied, the six waved goodbye to Shade and walked out of the clinic they were at and began their travels again.

Before long it was nighttime and the five had set up camp and Patrick was making dinner, “I’m going for a walk” Lash said, “Alright but don’t be gone for too long dinner’s nearly ready!” Patrick said, Lash nodded and began walking off.

Lash soon arrived at a lake that gleamed in the moonlight, Lash sighed as he stared at the lake, “Well! Long time no see Lash!” a voice called out to Lash, Lash spun around to see a man in his mid twenties with scars on his face, short messy brunette hair, a firm but muscular body, a tight black t-shirt, black jeans with tears in them and black dress shoes, he also had a few tattoos on his arms.

“Hey you’re… you are… uh... Who are you again?” Lash asked confused, “Well I didn’t think you would recognize me in my human form! But I nearly killed you and your friends if it hadn’t been that pink haired girl!” the man said, “Slummy?” Lash said, “It’s Slake” Slake corrected him, “Oh... How have you been?” Lash asked, “I’ve been good! Stop killing people in caves and became a traveling man for hire” Slake said, “Okay, that’s good… you’re not here to kill me are you?” Lash asked worried, “No, I’ve been hired to track down this hooded man with a mysterious knight” Slake replied, “Yeah me and my friends are going to track him to Korma forest!” Lash said, “Well see you there” Slake said, “Uh… do you know where it is?” Lash asked, “Yes! It’s located near Hydra lake to the north!” Slake replied, Lash thanked and began to head back to the camp when he and Slake saw an explosion.

Lash and Slake rushed to the area where the explosion was and when they got there they saw Mystic, Patrick, Vencen, Eleana and Ruby were fighting a hideous abomination, “Hey Lash what took you so long?” Vencen asked delivering the final blow to the abomination, Lash replied by pointing to Slake, "But where did this abomination come from?" Eleana asked, “From me!” a voice said behind Lash.

Before Lash or the others reacted, Lash was knocked unconscious by the hooded man, the hooded man caught Lash before he hit the ground, “You! Let him go!” Mystic yelled, “If you want him! Come find me at Corcyra cave" the hooded man replied and then vanished along with Lash, Mystic clenched her fist in anger, “Slake!” Mystic shouted to Slake, “Yeah?” Slake asked, “Do you know where Corcyra cave is?” Mystic asked, “Yeah! Follow me!” Slake said, the five then began to follow Slake to Corcyra cave.

Lash slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on a stone floor, “What the…” Lash said, “Your awake!” The hooded man said appearing in front of Lash just as he got up, Lash jumped back a bit and pulled out Fenrir, "Don't bother with that" the hooded man said, "And why's that?" Lash asked, "Because I want to talk, if that's fine with" the hooded man said, Lash was hesitant at first but he slowly lowered and dispersed his weapon and crossed his arms while he kept his guard up, "See not everything has to come to violence now does, plus you seem to be the sort of type who can be curious about things, so first I'll tell you where we are, we are in the deepest part of Corcyra cave, a part of the cave that had been sealed off" the hooded man said, Lash took a look around and notice carvings on the walls of the cave but couldn't make them as they have seem to have faded over time.

"So..." Lash replied, "Can't you feel the magical energy of the cave and how dense it feels?" the hooded man asked, now that he mentioned it Lash did feel a bit heavy as if something was weighing him down, "Don't worry I've casted a spell on us to prevent the magical energy in our bodies from going rampant" the hooded man said, "And why would it go rampant?" Lash asked, "Well you see, these carving use to belong to set of writings that dated back before the first war it self and explains that the reason why the magical energy here in these sealed off places is dense is because mages use to practice their rituals" the hooded man said, "And what does this have to do in bringing me here?" Lash asked, "Simple, you see we Acadians have three forms of the beast transformation" the hooded man said and upon hearing this Lash raised an eyebrow.

"There are three forms to the beast transformation, the first is the basic one; Beast-form, then we have the second one; Superior Beast-form, and unlike Beast-form which has humanoid feel to the transformation such as Elves and harpies being an example, the Superior Beast-form have an appearance of a beast that is the size of a one-story house and it may not even look like your beast-form" the hooded man explained, "And how did Acadians discover these forms?" Lash asked, "Much like with magic they focused the magical into their bodies until it surrounded their bodies and changed them into the beast-form that best suited them for both the basic and Superior" the hooded man explained, "And what about this third one?" Lash asked, "Ah! Yes, Ultimate Beast-form" the hooded man smiled.

"Ultimate Beast-form?" Lash asked, "Yes, and probably the first Ultimate Beast-form to have been recorded were these race of creature that were either accidentally created by the mages who practice their rituals here or some believed many years ago to have spontaneously out of no where and there exist a cave somewhere on Acadia that may give an insight to these creatures" the hooded man said, "And what are these creatures called?" Lash asked, "The Leviagons!" the hooded man replied, "Levia-what?" Lash asked, The Leviagons, but unfortunately I can't tell you what they were as they are considered a myth now and I have little to no information on them!" the hooded man replied, "Okay then... so what makes this Ultimate Beast-form so special?" Lash asked, "Because the powers and strengths of the basic and Superior Beast-form pale in comparison to this form and its power differs form person so I can't tell the exact power of it but it shares the similarity with Superior and that the form may not look like the basic" the hooded man explained.

When Mystic, Patrick, Vencen, Eleana, Ruby and Slake arrived they found Lash standing in front of the entrance way of Corcyra cave, leaning his back against the rock and he looked to be in deep thought, the six rushed up to him and he notice them, "Lash are you alright?" Patrick asked, "Yeah I'm fine all we did was chat" Lash replied, "What did tell you?" Eleana asked, and Lash explained to them about what the hooded man told him but leaving out the part of the Leviagon as it may of been useless information, for awhile everyone looked like they were in deep thought, but sighed and decided not to thing on why the hooded man would tell Lash this as they headed back to camp.

Once they arrived back at camp Slake told everyone where Korma forest was located and told them he'll meet them there and left, everyone saw that midnight had fallen and retreated to bed, but Lash stayed outside for awhile looking at the flickering flames of the campfire his mind drifting back to what the hooded man told him about the beast-forms, his mind then drifted to the forest where he met the wargs and where that giant reptilian creature attacked him, 'Is that thing my Ultimate Beast-form?' Lash asked himself, after awhile he yawned and went to bed as the hooded man watched the group from a distance and vanishing into the a black oval portal.


	27. Lash, Mystic and Patrick vs. Aragón, Violet and Lex!

“Master did you call for me?” Aragón said walking up to the hooded man, “Yes I did Aragón, we have some new members meet, Violet and Lex!” the hooded man said, Violet was a woman who was round about in her teenager years probably 18 or 17 years old, she had short dark pink hair, blue eyes, she wore a green tube top, black hot pants, with black slip on shoes, white socks and grey gloves.

Lex was a man in his mid thirties, he had a bald head, his right eyes was milky white while his left eye was dark green, and he had a goatee, he wore a black suit, and black dress shoes.

“Greetings! My name is Aragón!” Aragón introduced himself to Violet and Lex, “Nice to meet ya!” Violet said, “Hello!” Lex replied, “So what’s our mission?” Violet asked the hooded man, “I want you to kill these people *Shows Violet and Lex an image of Lash, Patrick, Mystic, Vencen, Eleana and Ruby* I want them dead or else they will be pests to my plan!” the hooded man said waving his hand causing the image to faded, Aragón, Violet and Lex bowed and vanished.

“I’m almost there, soon unimaginable power will be in my grasp!” the hooded man smirked and clenching his right hand, “You know that wheat blonde haired girl looked kind of hot!” Violet said to Lex, “Violet I have no interest in you attractions!” Lex said.

“Great we’re lost!” Ruby whined, as she sat on a rock in the middle of the forest, “Well it’s not any of our fault, when we were attacked by spider tigers!” Vencen said, earlier him, Eleana and Ruby were separated from Lash, Mystic and Patrick after they were attacked by ten spider tigers, Vencen was stuck with Ruby much to his dismay, even if Ruby didn’t act like a brat at times she was acting like one now and Vencen was resisting the urge to bash his head against a tree, Eleana decided to make some drinks to try and break the tension in the air, "Anyone like some tea?" she asked.

“Alright I thing we’ve killed all of them!” Lash said with his blade drawn and blood dripping off it, Patrick held his hammer and Mystic now wielding a metal staff stood in front of the ten dead spider tigers, they look exactly like tigers except they have eight limps and six eyes which freaked Lash out, “Was it really necessary to set them on fire?” Patrick asked, “Yes!” Lash replied, “Alright let’s find Vencen, Eleana and Ruby, if you two are done?” Mystic said, Lash and Patrick nodded and began to follow Mystic. 

“Say Aragón where are we going?” Violet asked, “We’re looking for Lash and his friends, isn’t that obvious!” Aragón replied, “Right and do you know where they are?” Violet asked, “K-kind of” Aragón replied, “Really? Because it seems that we’re lost in a freaking forest if you ask me!!!” Violet yelled, “W-well let’s keep looking! Who knows we might find them” Aragón said, “That doesn’t help Aragón!!!” Violet yelled.

“Hey, did you guys hear that?” Mystic asked Patrick and Lash, the two nodded in response, “Probably something wailing! Better not be a banshee! I’m not ready to die yet!” Patrick said as he hid behind Lash, "Hey! Don't use me as a shield! I'll break! I have crap defense!" Lash yelled at Patrick, With Mystic sighing at the two's antics. 

Vencen, Eleana and Ruby decided to get a move on after their rest and thought it would be best to try and find the others, as they walked Vencen tripped over a tree root and landed face first onto the ground, "Ow!" Vencen mumbled in pain as Eleana lifted him to his feet.

Lash, Mystic and Patrick were walking though the forest until Lash walked into a spider web and began failing around as if he was doing karate and accidentally hit Patrick in the groin, "Right... in the... round tables" Patrick said weakly as he dropped to his knees, "S-sorry..." Lash apologized, and Mystic sighed in embarrassment.

“Will you two kindly pass me a rope so that I may climb out!” Lex said to Aragón and Violet after he had fallen into a pit trap, “Hang on a minute I think I have one!” Aragón said going through a bag, "I'd say we leave him, I bet he'll make great friends with some of the animals here" Violet smirked, "Very funny Violet... Now help me up!!!" Lex yelled just as Aragón chucked down a rope and Lex climbed up.

“Okay... why is that cave growling?” Mystic asked as the three walked by a random cave, “Who knows and I’m not going in there to look!” Patrick replied and Lash just shrugged his shoulders and the three just carried on and bumped into...

Aragón, Violet and Lex, “At last we found you!” Aragón said, “Didn’t expect to see you here!” Lash said to Aragón , 'Wait is that...' Patrick said to himself when he noticed Lex behind Aragón, “Greetings my name is Lex Smith!” Lex introduced himself, “And my name is Violet!” Violet said smiling.

“Let me guess why you’re here in front of us! Your master wants you to kill us so we aren’t a pain in his ass right?” Lash asked, “Exactly… wait weren’t there six of you?” Aragón asked, “Oh! Vencen, Eleana and Ruby! Yeah we got separated from them” Mystic replied, “Great... after we deal with you we’re going to have to look for them in this mother humping forest!” Aragón sighed in annoyance, Lash, Mystic and Patrick drew their weapons as well as Aragón, Violet and Lex.

Ruby continued to whine about the forest and the giant bugs while Vencen and Eleana had earplugs in their ears, Eleana looked around the forest and saw the light shine through the leaves of the tress and reflected off the dirt and grass, Eleana began walking closer to Vencen, Vencen noticed this and smiled and handed a piece of chocolate that he was eating.

Aragón sent an energy slash hurling towards Lash, Lash slashed it in half, the two halves of the energy slash sliced five tree trunks and the five trees collapse to the ground, Lash and Aragón ran at each other and their blades clash sending the sound of metal clashing together throughout the forest, “You’ve gotten stronger I’m impressed! This fight will be a lot more interesting than our first match!” Aragón said, Lash pushed Aragón back and ignited his right leg in fire and tripped Aragón up. 

Mystic ran to avoid arrows fired out of Violet’s bow, Violet reloaded her bow with quickness that Mystic had to admit was impressive, Mystic ducked down and took cover behind a rock, “Why do I have to fight the archer!” Mystic said to herself and she lifted a nearby log and hurled it at Violet who dodged and allowed Mystic to throw the boulder she was hiding behind at Violet, the boulder hit Violet and sent her hurling backwards.

Patrick roared as he swung his hammer at Lex, Lex ducked down to avoid the swing and punched Patrick in the stomach, Patrick raised an eyebrow he placed his hammer down and grabbed Lex by both arms, “Oh no!” Lex said worried, Patrick jumped into the air throwing Lex onto the ground and elbow dropped him in the stomach, blood escape Lex’s mouth.

Aragón created four large square pillars of earth and hurled them towards Lash, Lash hopped onto one and ran towards Aragón, and threw a fireball at Aragón, Aragón sliced the fireball in two but unluckily for him the fireball exploded and sent into the air, allowing Lash to hop off of the pillar and axe kicked Aragón in the back and sent back towards the ground.

Violet after recovering from the boulder ran back and lept into the air and fired fifty magic arrow towards Mystic, Mystic smirked confidentially and used telekinesis to stop the arrows and fired them back towards Violets, "Now that's not fair..." Violet said weakly and she ran for cover. 

Lex upper cut Patrick but Patrick grabbed Lex's right forearm, “Patrick no...” Lex pleaded, “Patrick YES!” Patrick replied with smiled, Lex couldn't but smile and frown at the same time and Patrick spun Lex around over his head and brought him crashing down onto the ground with all of his strength, creating a small crater. 

Lash panted as he held his knee, “You’ve gotten stronger! But this is the end!” Aragón said, Lash got back to his feet, Lash's right forearm began to glow an electric blue color, Lash disperse his sword and an enormous amount of energy erupted from his bandages, Aragón took a step back and Lash charged towards him, Aragón tried to block Lash's fist but Lash Shattered his sword, "HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash yelled as his fist connected with Aragón's helmet, Aragón's armor exploded and sent Aragón flying, due to the explosion Lash wasn’t able to see the armor shatter and see who was under the armor.

Violet fired a giant arrow made entirely of energy at Mystic, Mystic then began to spin her staff until it became a whirlwind absorbing the energy arrows and sent the energy back at Violet, Violet dodged the energy and Mystic ran and strucked Violet in the ribs with her staff with the remaining energy from Violet's arrow, Violet was sent flying into a tree knocking the breath out of her.

Patrick held out his clenched his hands together and a purple aura surrounded them, even though his fight was completely one sided he smash his hands onto the ground, "GIGANTIC HAMMER!!!" Patrick yelled sending a large purple shock-wave towards Lex, Lex screamed right before he was hit by the shock-wave, the shock-wave from Patrick's Gigantic Hammer had sent Lex flying into the air and Lex then landed on an unconscious Violet.

"Hey we won!” Mystic smiled as Lash and Patrick caught up with her, but the three’s celebration was short lived when the hooded man appeared and was holding an unarmored Aragón by the collar, Lash, Mystic and Patrick couldn’t see Aragón’s face but Aragón had black hair, the hooded man walked up to Violet and Lex and grabbed them by the collar and vanished before the three could say or do anything.

After a few minutes, the three heard Vencen, Eleana and Ruby’s voices and turned around to see them, once Vencen, Eleana and Ruby caught up with them they said they heard the sound of fighting and the three’s voices and ran as fast as they could, Lash then explained to Vencen, Eleana and Ruby about the fight and how he managed to destroy Aragón’s armor but couldn’t see Aragón’s face, after that the group began to head north and hopefully out of the forest.


	28. Chapter twenty eight: Korma village part one: The Assassins of the Scorpion

"We're here at last!" Patrick said, the group was standing outside of Korma forest after five weeks of traveling to get here to stop the hooded man and whatever he was planning as well as having to deal with his lackeys Violet and Lex though Patrick and Eleana seemed to always beat Lex, while Mystic, Lash, Vencen, and Ruby seemed to have more difficulty with Violet, upon approaching Korma forest the five were approached by Slake.

"Well you guys are here at last" Slake said, "Yeah we've had a little trouble with lackeys of the hooded man but we're here now" Patrick replied, "Do you know where Korma village is Kale?" Mystic asked, "First; My name is Slake and secondly; it's a village how hard can it be to find?" Slake replied.

The seven then began to walk into the forest only to be surrounded by ten assassins of the scorpion, "Well shi—" Lash said right before he and the others were knocked out. 

When Lash awoke he found himself and a sleeping Vencen and Patrick inside a cell, "Ow my head!" Lash groaned while rubbing the back of his head, he then got up and shook Vencen and Patrick awake, the two opened their eyes and rubbed the back of their head, "Where are we?" Vencen asked, "Hmm... by the looks of those metal bars in front of us, a stone floor and a small window which also has metal bars on it I'd say... we're in a cell!" Patrick replied in a slight smart-ass tone, "Where are the others?" Vencen asked, "No clue! I just woke up here then I woke you up, the last thing I remember was being surrounded by those assassin guys and then something metal whacked me in the back of the head!" Lash replied, "Same here" Vencen and Patrick said, the three sighed as they contemplated on what to do.

Lash then walked up to the metal bars, "What are you doing?" Vencen asked, "If I heat my hands up to a certain degree then I should be able to melt these bars and brake us out and we'll try to find the others!" Lash explained, "I'm not sure about this" Patrick replied with a sweat drop on his head, Lash after taking a deep breathe and exhaling, then gripped two of the metal bars ready to melt then but instead the metal bars began to electric shock him, Lash let go of the metal bars which after ten minutes of an electrical shock, parts of his skin were burnt and his hair frizzed up, "Nice going and more bright ideas?" Vencen asked sarcastically, "Shut up!" Lash growled as he flatten his hair back to normal. 

The three then heard footsteps and three assassins stood in front of the cell that Lash, Vencen and Patrick were in, "Turn off the electricity!" one of the assassins said, the same assassin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bronze key and inserted it into a keyhole and with a click opened the cell, the three were ready to fight the assassins but the three assassins were suddenly behind them, they grabbed the three's arms and pulled the arms behind their backs and began walking them out of the cell.

The assassins led the three down a few hallways and into a room labeled interrogation room, once inside the three saw the others sitting on wooden chairs and a man who wore the assassin of the scorpion uniform but with the hood and mask down and the goggles off his eyes, the man looked like he was in his mid forties, he had streaks of grey hair in his short messy brunette hair, and he had green eyes.

The assassins who had Lash, Vencen and Patrick in their grip force them to sit down on the wooden chairs, bowed to the man in front of them and left, "Good you're all here! My name is Albeito one of the leaders of the assassins of the scorpion as well as adviser and old friend to the head assassin and you seven are?" Albeito asked after he introduced himself, "My name is Mystic Elysium, the former leader of the Crimson Wolf Bandits!" Mystic said, Vencen, Ruby and Patrick turned their heads to Mystic after she had introduced herself as the leader of the now disbanded Crimson Wolf Bandits, for now they would have to ask her about that later, after everyone introduced themselves Albeito cleared his throat.

"Good now that we have introductions out of the way, tell me why are you seven here?" Albeito asked, "We came to warn you and stop a hooded man from stealing something from your village" Mystic told Albeito, "A hooded man you say and tell me what is he after?" Albeito asked, "He's after two metal orbs, we don't know what reason why he wants them, maybe to increase his magic!" Vencen answered, "How powerful is he?" Albeito asked, "We can't say but with two other metal orbs he can create these abominations, he also has three lackeys who follow him, one is a knight who goes by the name Aragón, he wears this old fashion knights armor but Lash here was able to shatter his armor in our second fight but we couldn't see what he looks like. The next is a woman round about our age, she has short pink hair, blue eyes, she wears a tube top, hot pants and black sneakers. and the last lackey is a bald man who actually pretty weak and Patrick and him seem to know each other" Mystic told Albeito said, Albeito sat in front of the seven he seem to be deep thought but after a while, "I'll shall inform this to the head assassin but for now you lot will have to go back to your cells okay" Albeito said, the seven nodded and were escorted back to their cells. 

Lash sat on his bed in the cell that he and Vencen shared while Patrick sat on the concrete ground, there were two separate beds on opposite ends of each other, "Hey Lash" Mystic's voice said to Lash, "What is it?" Lash asked, "This doesn't have anything to do with the current situation but" Mystic said, "What?" Lash asked, "Back on earth do you have a girlfriend?" Mystic asked, "No why?" Lash replied, Mystic smiled to herself, "No reason" Mystic replied, "Okay" Lash said and Vencen sighed to himself, soon Albeito returned, "The head assassin would like to see you lot" Albeito said, he then opened up all the cell doors and led the seven to the head assassin's house. 

The head assassin was man in his mid forties, he wore a black robe with the assassins of the scorpion insignia on the chest, the hood of the robe was up but the six could see his face, he had grayish blue eyes and had long white hair.

"Please sit you are guest in my house" the head assassin smiled, the seven nodded and sat down, "Now Albeito tells me, you lot are here to stop a hooded man from stealing something from our village, am I correct?" the head assassin asked, "Yes" Mystic nodded, "I see... me and the other head assassins shall discuss this matter and send scouts to see if this hooded man is near!" the head assassin said, "If I may ask, why hasn't the hooded man stolen the orbs yet?" Eleana asked, "We had heard that five of our members were found dead and in case, if that same killer were to teleport here and attack us we have set up an anti-magic barrier and as for why he hasn't stolen the metal orbs yet, I'll show before I discuss the matter with the others!" the head assassin said standing up.

The head assassin led the seven through the village and eventually into a building and stopped by a metal door guarded by powerful looking metal golems, "This is why! This is our vault where we store powerful objects from the ancient times of Arcadia to prevent them falling into the wrong hands!" the head assassin explained "Now I'll have someone show you where you all will be staying until I call for you!" the head assassin said, the seven nodded and were escorted to a hotel and were showed to their rooms. 

Outside Korma forest; "Master the preparations are complete! We are ready when you are!" Aragón said, Aragón was now wearing a new set armor that looked exactly like his old one except it was black with a yellow line on his helmet and had shoulder pads and his cape was dark blue, "Let's wait till night! Prepare yourselves Korma Village!" the hooded man said with an evil smirk on his face. 

To be continued.


	29. Korma village part two: Assault

Mystic walked around the hotel while humming a little tune, she passed by Lash’s room and stopped, “I wonder what Lash is up to?” Mystic said to herself, she then opened up Lash’s room door and saw that Lash was asleep on the hotel’s bed, “What are you doing?” Vencen asked suddenly appearing behind her, Mystic yelped in surprised she then quickly placed her hands over her mouth, Lash was still asleep despite her scream of fright, “Vencen don’t do that!” Mystic told Vencen, “Do what?” he asked, “Sneak up on people!” Mystic said, “Oh I was just curious on why you were checking on Lash” Vencen said, “That’s none of your business!” Mystic retorted, “Yeah! Why were you checking up on me?” Lash asked now behind Mystic, Mystic and Vencen yelped in surprised and punched him in the gut, “Sorry...” Mystic and Vencen apologized, “What’s wrong I heard screaming!” Patrick said running up to the three along with Eleana, “It’s nothing!” Lash said getting to his feet, “Anyway... the head assassin would like to see us!” Patrick said with a sweat drop running down his face. 

At the head assassin’s house; “We have just received word from one of our scouts that there are abominations lead by a hooded man and they are heading in this direction” the head assassin said, “That’s him!” Ruby said, “I see... we will make preparations for this attack we will show this fool who he’s messing with!” the head assassin said in a stern tone of voice with everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

“Aragón! Violet! Lex!” the hooded man said to his three lackeys, Yes master?” the three replied, “You go on ahead and show them your real power!” the hooded man smiled, the three nodded and ran off ahead followed by some of the abominations.

Lash, Mystic, Patrick, Vencen, Eleana, Ruby and Slake were back at the hotel preparing themselves for the fight, they had gotten a lot stronger over the last five weeks, Lash drew out Fenrir and strapped it onto his back, he summoned metal shoulder pads on both his shoulders and clicked his neck, "Alright! I'm ready for some action!" he grinned.

Mystic made some adjustments to her staff and placed metal gauntlets on her arms and she let out a sigh as she placed her staff onto her back, she then did a few stretches and curve her back until their was a click, and took off her jersey and skirt, and put on a sports bra and dark blue knee-length shorts.

Vencen focused his magical energy by meditating "I'm prepared!" he said as he stood up and strap his weapon onto his back, Eleana soon walked in, she was wearing her regular clothes and nothing special, "Are you ready?" she asked, "Yeah" Vencen smiled and the two left the room.

Patrick took of his trench coat and placed his hammed on his back and slammed his fist together as he tightened the bandages around his arms and knees, and clicked his neck, he looked out the window to see the assassins of the scorpion preparing for the attack and left his room and bumped into Vencen and Eleana.

Ruby wrapped her whip around her waist, she took a deep breath and exhaled "I'll make him pay Grandpa and Uncle!" she said in a hushed tone.

Slake cracked his knuckles and gave a toothy grin, “This is going to be fun!” he said as he left his room and bumped into the others who were now prepared as they'll ever be for the on coming attack. 

The seven stepped out of the hotel just in time to hear one of the assassins shout “They’re here!”, just as he said it two abominations busted through the wooden gate, “Attack!!! Show these monsters no mercy!!!” the head assassin yelled, the seven ran towards the abominations that were entering through the destroyed gate.

Aragón suddenly appeared and grabbed Lash by the throat and threw him through five building on the shopping district "Son of a Biiiiiiiiiiiiiitch! OW!" Lash yelled as he went flying and as Aragón went after him. 

Mystic avoided arrows being fired at her and led Violet through the weapon district, and Patrick grabbed Lex and ran through some buildings with Lex going back first into the walls, Slake, Vencen, Eleana and Ruby were left to deal with the abominations luckily they had the help of the assassins of the scorpion. 

Lash regained his balance and skidded back on a roof he quickly blocked Aragón’s blade, “Haven’t seen you in while!” Lash said with a grin that showed his sharp teeth, “Well I’m here now! so DIE!!!” Aragón shouted swinging his sword sending Lash into a wall, Lash recovered and fired a fireball, Aragón swung his sword slicing the fireball in half, "FIRE DRAGON'S BREATH!!!" Lash shouted while spewing a wave of fire out of his mouth and sending the sounds of an explosion through the entire village.

Violet fired arrow after arrow at Mystic, Mystic avoided them and sent some of Violet’s arrow back at Violet, 'Damn her telekinesis' Violet growled to herself as she avoided every arrow and blocked Mystic's staff with her bow and counter attacked by kicking Mystic in the stomach, Mystic stumbled backwards before regaining her footing and sent a pile of rubble towards Violet.

Patrick was now fighting on par with Lex, “So you’ve gotten stronger old friend!” Patrick grunted, “Actually I was holding back!” Lex smiled sounding cocky, Patrick let out a little chuckle as he stomped his foot on the ground sending a pillar of earth to hit Lex, Lex punched the earth pillar shattering it, "Don't pull that crap out your ass" Patrick replied to what Lex said about holding back, "Like wise!" Lex replied. 

Slake roared as he brought his saber crashing down on one of the abomination heads, by this time the battle had dragged out, buildings were now on fire and some had collapsed, Vencen had summoned both Dark Dryad and Dark Golem to help out with the battle as he slashed abominations in half from left to right.

Eleana allowed her control over the wind to flow through her entire body, making her movements faster, the abominations tried to attack her, but Eleana was too fast for them and cut them into pieces in an elegant fashion, "Eleana go help Mystic!" Vencen told Eleana, Eleana nodded and went to help Mystic.

Ruby cracked her whip and sent enough electricity to cause the abominations heads to explode, the head assassin sent magical bolts hurling and decapitating abominations that got past the gate and the people fighting, some of his assassins laid dead on the stone ground, “Seems like your having fun!” a voice said behind him, the head assassin turned around to see the hooded man standing in front of him, “So you’re the one leading this attack!” the head assassin said, “Indeed I am!” the hooded man replied with his evil grin, “Tell me who you are and what are you after!” the head assassin demanded, but his question was not answered as the hooded man lunged at him surrounding his left hand in magical energy, the head assassin did the same and the two clashed.

Lash lept onto a nearby building after the last one he was on collapsed and dropped to his knees panting, “Damn... he’s stronger as ever!” Lash panted, “What’s the matter tired?” Aragón asked suddenly appearing behind Lash, Lash spun around with his sword ready to slice Aragón’s head off but Aragón knocked Fenrir out of Lash’s hands, but to Aragón’s surprise Lash punched his helmet and he could feel the energy flowing violently out from Lash’s fist, ‘This attack!?’ Aragón thought to himself with his assumption proven correct, “HELLBREAKER!!!” Lash yelled punching Aragón’s helmet and sending him flying, Aragón hit the nearby wall and with the force from Lash’s Hellbreaker was enough to shatter Aragón’s new helmet, as Aragón stood up Lash could see his face, Lash’s eyes widen in shock, “No way! Are you serious!?” Lash said in disbelief “Nevau!?!” he said stunned as Nevau/Aragón stood up. 

To be continued.


	30. Korma village part three: climax

Lash stared at Nevau wide eyed until Fenrir snapped him out of it just as Nevau attacked, [What the hell are you doing standing around he's your opponent BOY!!!] Fenrir yelled, 'Sorry it just took me by surprise that's all, kind of should've seen it coming when he said my name when we first met honestly' Lash said avoiding Nevau's attacks and grabbing his sword he then turned the sword into Skoll and Hati and attacked with Nevau blocking his attacks. 

Vencen slashed abomination after abomination, he was separated from Slake and Ruby as well as the assassins of the scorpion, he was breathing heavily and his summons Dark Golem and Dryad had been overwhelmed and slain, and with the abomination wave seeming endless, Vencen considered the thought of summoning the Skeleton King, but the way things are going he would be risking his life.

Mystic deflected arrow after arrow while also sending some pieces of cement at Violet, Violet avoided them while some hit their target while an explosion appeared next to the building they were fighting on, Violet was about to charge up an energy arrow but Eleana appeared and kicked Violet back and Eleana leaped down and next to Mystic, "Mystic! I'm here to help!" Eleana said, "Thanks" Mystic smiled and the two got into fighting stances.

Violet lept into the air and fired six arrows and Mystic deflected the arrows and Eleana made the air around Violet denser, Violet landed on the ground with a crash, but she quickly got back and Mystic and Eleana charged at her, Violet blocked both of them with her bow, she kicked Mystic and Eleana back, "Telekinetic bomb!" Mystic yelled throwing a crystal clear ball towards Violet, Violet lept back but when the telekinetic bomb touch the ground where Violet had been, the bomb exploded knocking Violet back and towards a wall and sending chunks of concrete and dirt into the air.

Patrick punched Lex in the gut, Lex countered by headbutting Patrick, "Ow Son of a!" Patrick grumbled while rubbing his forehead, Lex charged at Patrick thinking that his guard was down but Patrick tripped Lex over and grabbed his leg and began smashing Lex repeatably onto the ground, 'Why do I always get this guy!' Patrick thought to himself. 

Vencen panted in exhaustion at last him, Ruby and Slake as well the assassins of the scorpion had cleared out the remaining abominations, "Heh! We *Huff* did it!" Slake smiled as he breathed heavily,"I wonder how the others are doing?" Vencen asked and as if on cue the three heard Lash's voice coming closer while there were also the sound of objects being broken as he got closer as well as him swearing.

Lash landed behind Vencen, Slake and Ruby with a loud thud, "Lash stop swearing there are kids around!" Vencen said with a slight sarcastic tone, "Shut it!" Lash replied slightly annoyed as he got back onto his feet, eventually Mystic, Eleana and Patrick rejoin the group, "So how'd your fights go?" Slake asked, "Well Violet ran off" Mystic said, "Lex did the same as well" Patrick said, "Well I got thrown here! But I'm sure he's heading towards the vault! Also I did figure out who Aragón really is!" Lash said, "Really who?" Mystic asked, "Aragón is Nevau" Lash said, "No way... Actually we should of seen that coming considering he called you by your name when we first met him as Aragón" Mystic said as Lash nodded while dusting some dirt off his jeans, "So what is he being mind controlled or something?" Vencen asked, "No during our fight I asked him and he replied with no, he's doing this on his own accord!" Lash replied, "Anyway you said he was heading towards the vault we have to stop him!" Slake said, the others nodded and ran towards the vault.

As they ran, the seven were stopped by an explosion that appeared out of nowhere and hovering in front of them was the hooded man who was smirking, "Going somewhere?" the hooded man asked, "So you are here!" Patrick said, "Indeed and if you were making your way to the vault to stop me well... you're too late! I have what I need" the hooded man said pulling out two metal orbs with one having the symbol of omega and the other alpha, "What are you planning to do with those?" Ruby asked, the hooded man smirked "Before I answer you question it's about time I tell you my name, I am called Mortem! And what I am planning to do with these is to awaken the two ancient golems from the Dragon War!" Mortem smirked, "ARE YOU INSANE!!!" Slake yelled, "Perhaps I am... but aren't they weapons? And weapons are meant to be used right?" Mortem asked, "What are you going to accomplish by using them?" Mystic asked, "Who knows? World domination or vengeance who really knows" Mortem smiled while shrugging his shoulders in a joking matter.

Mortem then placed the orbs back into his pocket and turned his attention back onto the six, "Unfortunately, I don't know where they are located" Mortem spat, "You know that's a good thing for us!" Lash said, "True! But anyway I wonder how much stronger you've all become!" Mortem said, he then raised his right hand into the air, and then threw it at the ground and fired a black sphere, "Spectral blast!" Mortem yelled, the sphere hit the ground and caused a massive explosion destroying nearly half of the village. 

"What was that!?" one of the assassins yelled, "Half the town has been destroyed!" another assassin said, "Is the head Assassin fine!?" another assassin yelled, "Don't worry he's fine but what about those seven, are they okay is the real question!' Albeito said appearing in front of the assassins. 

Lash groaned in pain as he struggled to his feet but collapsed to his knees, he then noticed his his right leg up to his knee was missing, "Oh... you got... to be... KIDDING ME!!!!" Lash yelled in anger, he then noticed his bandages on right arm were falling apart revealing his claw like arm and his clothes torn in places.

"Where are the others?" he mumbled as he looked around for sign of the others, he noticed Patrick sending a pillar of earth towards Mortem, Vencen sending a magical bolts, Slake throwing knives at Mortem and Eleana hurling wind sickles towards Mortem, Ruby was lying on the ground unconscious, "LASH!!!" Mystic yelled running towards Lash, "Are you?" she asked, "Well my lower right leg is gone missing, did you by chance see it on the way here?" Lash asked sarcastically with Mystic whacking him on the head in response. 

Vencen and Eleana were thrown into a nearby wall and Slake was thrown onto a building roof, Patrick was the only who was still putting up a fight but it was clear as day that he was losing the fight, but he kept fighting with hopes that he could beat Mortem. 

Vencen awoke and looked around find himself in a pitch black world with a gray concrete floor, he then looked up to see a gigantic skeleton wearing pitch black armor and sat on a blood red and grayish-black throne with yellow orbs staring at Vencen within the black empty eye sockets, the Skeleton also held a giant black War-Hammer in its right hand, Vencen recognized the Skeleton as the Skeleton King, "So you are awake now!" the Skeleton King said with a raspy and deep voice. 

Patrick was now struggling against Mortem, Slake had gotten back up and dashed towards Mortem while throwing knives at Mortem, Mystic help Lash sit up and she threw chunks of debris and Lash fired giant fireballs from where he was, Mortem however easily deflected all of the attacks, with a smug smile on his face, "Its hopeless you can't beat me!" Mortem told them as he chuckled. 

"So why am I here exactly?" Vencen asked, "You and your friends seemed to be having trouble with that Mortem fellow" Skeleton King replied, "Yeah! We are" Vencen answered, "I have an plan, it might not beat him but it will weaken him and all you have to do is pay a cost" Skeleton King said, "What do you have in mind?" Vencen asked, "The cost will be your right forearm!" Skeleton King explained to Vencen, Vencen took a deep breath and held out right arm without a second thought or any hesitation, "Before we do this is there anything else I need to know?" Vencen asked. 

Patrick and Slake collapse to the ground defeated as Mortem chuckled in victory with only Mystic and Lash still putting up a fight, Mortem smiled as he walked towards the two but then stopped when he heard Vencen's voice, "SKELETON KING!!!" Vencen yelled slamming his right hand onto the ground, Mortem, Lash and Mystic turned towards Vencen direction to see a yellow magic circle form underneath Vencen.

Eleana slowly open her eyes and sat up to see the large magic circle underneath Vencen glow brightly, and saw his right forearm exploding into blood and bone that was then absorbed by the magic circle, and the Skeleton King emerged from the ground with his Hammer held above his head, "The cost has been paid! Now Mortem suffer my might! Suffer the TOMBSTONE'S CURSE!!!" Skeleton shouted and brought his Hammer crashing down onto Mortem, with him screaming in pain as the large hammer crush his body, "Farewell young Vencen and may your battles be filled with the joy of victory!" Skeleton King said before vanishing and Eleana rushed towards Vencen and caught him before he hit the ground.

Mortem however survived the attack, "Ha! Did you honestly think was enough to kill me? Now perish! Spectral Blast!" Mortem smirked and held out his hand, but the black sphere did not appear, confused Mortem tried his other attacks but failed, "What! What did YOU DO!?!" Mortem demanded, "That's what Tombstone's curse does. It weakens you so now all your powerful spells are gone!" Vencen smirked before passing out in Eleana's arms, Mortem gritted his teeth in frustration and was then taken by surprise when Mystic whacked Mortem in the neck with her staff sending him crashing through the ground, Lash fired a massive fireball which he dubbed the mega fireball but Mortem got back onto his feet and smacked it away but his left hand was burnt by doing so, and Eleana hurled a wind sickle toward Mortem, but Mortem caught it and crushed it.

He then appeared in front of Lash and grabbed him by the throat and threw him hard into a wall, and turned his attention to Mystic and pulled out his rapier, he quickly knocked her staff out of her hands and hit her to the ground, "I'll make sure your death is slow and painful as I can make it before moving onto the others!" Mortem snarled pushing his right foot down onto Mystic's rips,, Eleana gently placed Vencen on the ground and ran towards Mortem and lept into the air and tried to kick Mortem in the neck, but Mortem caught her leg and threw her back in the direction she came from.

Lash who was still conscious heard Mystic's cries of pain, "Mystic NO!!!" he yelled and tried to get onto his left foot and fired a fireball at the ground with both hand launching himself towards Mortem, "Leave her alone you BASTARD!!!" Lash yelled with malice in his voice as he punched Mortem in the face with HellBreaker but Mortem quickly recovered and punched Lash in the gut and threw him to the ground, "Care about her do you? Well then I make her suffer as you watch then!" Mortem smirked as he summoned spectral hands to hold Lash down, and continued to press his foot down onto Mystic.

Eleana who was still conscious even after being thrown into the same wall for the second time, could see Mystic and Lash were into trouble, she tried to stand up but collapsed to her knee unable to help, she then felt large shiver run down her spine and looked up at the sky and saw it turn pitch black and then looked down to see Lash's eyes turned emerald green, and her uneasy feeling increased and soon turned into fear.

Mystic continued to cry out in pain, and Lash began struggle violently from the grasp of the skeletal hands, trying to escape the grasp of the spectral hands and thoughts of his past of him and each thought made him more and more angry, he clenched his fists and teeth in anger and eventually all the the emotions that Lash had bottled up over the years flowed out like a tsunami and felt an overwhelming force consume him.

Mortem stopped what he was doing and looked up at the pitch black sky with no cloud, no sun and no sign of any type of moon, 'Strange it was 1:00 p.m earlier, he then heard the sound of bones breaking and turned around to see Lash destroying the spectral arms as he stood up on his remaining foot, black flames erupted from the wound where his right leg used to be and formed a new leg that scorched the ground.

Mortem was dumbstruck at what was happening and flash of dark purple lightning appeared from the cloudless sky struck the ground behind Lash and illuminated something behind him for a brief second, but that brief second was Mortem needed to see and he began shaking, the illumination that had appeared behind Lash for that brief second was a large dragon-like creature with pitch black scales and emerald green eyes that could pierce through even the toughest of men's souls and teeth that as sharp as sharpened daggers, Eleana was also able to see that illumination, and like Mortem was unable to explain what she saw.

Mortem took a deep breathe and exhaled, mustering up his courage, "What the hell is happening to yo-" but he was cut off from his sentence by Lash's right fist punching him in the mouth sending him flying into a wall, Lash hair had turned a snowy white and a black aura flowed from his body, "What the hell is happening to you!?!" Mortem demanded, but he received no answer as Lash began to charge at Mortem, Mortem attempted to block with a shield spell but Lash grabbed onto his left arm and twisted it until there was a sickening crack as blood sprayed everywhere, Lash then furiously punched Mortem in the gut knocking the air out of him, Mortem quickly fired a red orb at Lash's gut sending back the latter back a few distances away from him, "I need to get out of here!" Mortem grunted and he tried to teleported himself out of Korma village along with his lackeys but Lash was too quick and he grabbed Mortem other arm and twisted it in the same fashion as he did with Mortem's left arm and hit Mortem with a Hellbreaker sending Mortem hurling back first into a wall.

Lash slowly began to approach, with his right hand with the bandages now gone clenched into a fist, his pace began to speed up but before he could even get near Mortem, Eleana stopped him by standing in front of him, with her arms stretched out, "Lash! Please stop! This isn't you!" she yelled at Lash with tears forming in her eyes, and to her shock, Lash whacked her hard in the head with his left fist knocking her hard onto the ground and he proceeded to head towards Mortem.

"BLADE SLASH!!!" Eleana heard a familiar voice yelled and looked up and saw Nevau sending a wave of energy hurling towards Lash, Lash held out his right hand and a black mist form around his right hand and absorbed the energy slash, Nevau landed next to Mortem and grabbed Mortem by the back of the shirt but his eyes were still locked onto Lash who was still walking towards them, soon Violet and Lex appeared, Violet shot a wave of energy filled arrows while Lex fired magical orbs towards Lash, but the same black mist formed around Lash's right hand and held his hand out and the mist absorbed the energy, the two landed in front of Mortem and Nevau, Violet continued to fire arrows at Lash, while Nevau and Lex created a portal and when the portal was complete, Nevau grabbed Mortem and the three entered the portal with Violet closing the portal quickly behind her.

Lash let out a roar of anger, and he soon quickly turned his attention towards Eleana, as she tried to lift herself up, Lash walked up to her and grabbed her by the collar of her tattered shirt and lifted her off the ground and up to his face, Eleana struggled as she looked into the cold eyes of her brother, but she knew that this wasn't her brother, Lash readied his hand to strike her heart, tears began to roll down her face as she pleaded for him to stop, "Lash! Please stop, this isn't you! PLEASE STOP!!!" Eleana cried, she noticed through her tears that Lash's hand was shaking, he then released Eleana, Lash then gripped his head tightly and yelled in agony, as he took steps back.

The sky then return back to normal and Lash soon dropped to the ground, unconscious but his appearance had returned and the black flames that had from a leg died down and disappeared completely, Eleana crawled to her and hugged his unconscious body tightly and peered over her shoulder to see people heading in their direction.

The still injured head assassin along with Albeito and some assassins soon arrived on the scene and looked at the crater, "Get these seven to the clinic!" the head assassin said, the assassins nodded and went to pick up the six while the head assassin and Albeito looked at the destroyed village and up at the sky.


	31. The search for the golems

Mystic woke up rubbing her head as she looked around to find herself in a hospital room, she got up quickly only to feel a sharp pain shoot through her ribs and she remembered Mortem crushing her ribs with his foot, Mystic slowly got up and left the room she was in. 

When she entered the waiting room, she saw the head assassin talking to a boy who looked round about Vencen's age, the boy wore the assassins of the scorpion but without the hood and goggles, he had spiky black hair, dark red eyes and square shaped reading glasses.

Eleana was also sitting in the room, she had a few bandages on her and her face was a bit red as she was rubbing her eyes, she looked like she had been crying, Mystic closed the door behind her and walked towards Eleana, Eleana noticed Mystic and ran towards her and hugged Mystic, Mystic winced in pain but hugged Eleana back, "Are you okay?" Mystic asked Eleana, Eleana shook her head in response, and told Mystic what happened between Lash and Mortem, Mystic and Eleana sat down and Mystic was unsure of what to say, but she and Eleana knew Lash could never hurt Eleana, 'but what could've made the sky turn pitch black, when Lash went berserk?" Mystic asked herself.

The two assassins then notice Mystic's presence, "You know what do do!" the head assassin said to the boy, the boy nodded and vanished, "Who was that?" Mystic asked, "That was Cherock I've just sent him scouting around the area in case if there is any of Mortem's henchmen lurking around and to see if there is any sign of the burial site of the golems!" the head assassin replied, "Who told you this?" Mystic asked, "Slake did" Eleana said, "Where is he? In one of the rooms?" Mystic asked, "No! He left just a little while ago despite the protest of our nurses and doctors, but your other friends are there. Patrick and Ruby are fine but Ruby has a broken arm. But Lash and Vencen are going under operations and having their missing limps replaced with mechanical replicas" the head assassin informed Mystic, "What body parts are missing from those two?" Eleana asked, "Lash is having the lower part of his right leg replaced and Vencen is having his right forearm replaced, but a while ago, Lash's heart stopped for fifteen seconds" the head assassin said.

"Also did you know that he has a claw like arm?" the head assassin asked, Eleana and Mystic nodded, "I see..." the head assassin said slightly troubled by this, "I suggest you tell the others if they don't know about this" the head assassin said, "How long will their operations take?" Mystic asked, "Hopefully not long" the head assassin replied and Mystic and Eleana waited for the others to recover. 

Before long Patrick woke up and stepped out, the head assassin explained to him on what he explained to Mystic and Eleana and two hours past and Ruby and Vencen walked out of their rooms they were in with Vencen having a new mechanical arm, and Patrick explained to the two what the head assassin told him, Mystic and Eleana and soon Lash walked out of his room.

"How's your leg?" Mystic asked, "Its good! A bit twitchy but the nurse told me it'll get over it" Lash replied, "Well anyway it's a good thing Mortem doesn't know where the golems are located but we also don't know where they're located!" Vencen said, "And we couldn't beat him even with the tombstone curse!" Lash spat, "But at least he's weakened now" Patrick said, "But for how long?" Mystic asked, the six sat there contemplating on what to do next, "Well we've got no choice we have to find the golems first and destroy them!" Patrick said speaking up, "Right! But when we find where they are, how are we suppose to get inside when Mortem has what I'm going to assume are the keys to the door?" Lash asked, "We'll figure that out when we get there" Patrick answered, just then Cherock returned and whispered to the head assassin on his findings, "Well you six, Cherock may have found a clue to the golems whereabouts" the head assassin said to them.

The six were soon back on the road, Lash after the others had found out about his claw like arm, removed the bandages, as the six walked they were stopped in their tracks when they saw a man standing in front them and the look in his eye say that the five were the ones he was expecting, the man had short dark purple hair with a strand of hot pink, he wore an eyepatch over his left eye and his right eye was a dark pink, he wore silver and dark green armor with a dark blue cape and an emblem of a wolf on the chest-plate.

Mystic who standing behind Lash, "Mystic!" the man said, "Mayhem" Mystic said, "What are you doing here?" the man asked, "I'm traveling with these lot," Mystic replied, "I see" Mayhem said and taking a look at Mystic's companions and nodded and walked down the path he was taking, "Do you know him Mystic?" Eleana asked, "Yeah that's my older brother Mayhem, he's captain of the Wolf brigade at Zelpius, Come on we're wasting time" Mystic said and the six continued walking.

Soon the six arrived at Teraku town and wondered around, and after buying some supplies, the six rented a room at the inn, each of them got a separate rooms, Mystic gazed out of the window of her room, and thought about what Eleana told her about Lash's losing control, and thought the time when she saw thought she heard a deep growling sound coming out of the arm.

Lash laid on his bed while looking at the claw like arm, 'Why do I have this arm?' Lash asked himself, he sighed as he lifted himself off the bed and thought about what Mortem said about ultimate beast form, he took a deep breathe and exhaled and left his room.

Lash knocked on the door to the room that Patrick was sleeping in, he heard large footsteps approached the door, and door opened up, "What's up Lash?" Patrick asked, "Can you help me with something?" Lash asked, "Sure" Patrick answered, "alright followed me" Lash said.

Lash and Patrick walked a safe distance away from Teraku town, and Lash explained what he was going to do as they walked, "So you want to learn how to transform and control your ultimate beast transformation?" Patrick asked, "Yeah" Lash replied, Patrick told Lash what he needed to do, Lash took a deep breathe and exhaled and transformed into his ultimate beast form, with Patrick getting prepared in case Lash's lose control.

Lash finished the transformation, Patrick was relieved that Lash didn't lose control but his jaw hit the ground in shock at what Lash had transformed into, Lash ultimate beast form, was dragon like in appearance, with Lash's icy blue eyes, scars and hair, it was muscular in build and had dark blue scales with dark purple markings, he wore his jeans and gloves and he stood over 350 feet tall and had shackles with broken chains attached to them over his wrists.

Lash then changed back to normal and it took a few seconds for him to adjust back to his normal body, "That went better than expected" Patrick said, "Yeah, thanks anyway what did I changed into?" Lash asked, "Well I couldn't believe it, but your ultimate beast form is a Leviagon Berserk" Patrick, "R-really!?" Lash replied shocked at the information, after awhile of silence "We should probably head back to the Inn before we catch a cold" Patrick said as he felt the air around him get chilly, Lash nodded in agreement and the two headed back to town.


	32. The return of Zade

Lash yawned as he walked through the town of Teraku town, it was still dawn so there wasn't many people walking around, Lash had barely gotten any sleep due to transforming into the his ultimate beast form; the Leviagon with Patrick's help, the others were still asleep at the inn so Lash was on his own, Lash was wearing his usual clothes well usual for him, which was his black sleeveless hoodie, his blue jeans, black gloves and grey lace-up sneakers, his right arm was no longer bandaged up due to the others finding out about his arm, and his mechanical right leg was working perfectly, Lash soon notice and recognized someone a man in front of him. 

The man had short neck length dark ginger hair, hazel eyes which were behind square reading glasses, a dark blue mask which covered his mouth and neck, the man wore a dark red and teal t-shirt shirt which was under a black jacket, he also wore dark green and pale yellow cargo jeans and black steel cap boots.

"Yo Zade!" Lash called to the man while waving, the man looked up and saw Lash, "Lash!?" Zade replied, the two walked up to each other, "Good to see that you're alive" Lash smiled, "Yeah I thought you were a goner when the ship exploded, should've of known better" Zade grinned behind his mask, "Are Zyker and Lyra with you?" Lash asked, "No sorry we were separated when the ship exploded. But how have you been anyway?" Zade asked "Well we better find a place too sit because it's gonna be a long story" Lash replied.

"So Nevau is now working with Mortem, and he's not being mind-control" Zade said sitting a bench, "Yeah, it was kinda hard for me to believe as well" Lash sighed, "I knew he was a slimy bastard... but this just takes the cake" Zade said narrowing his eyes as he crushed a can of Lemonade and placed it into a nearby bin, "I wonder where Zyker and Lyra are?" Lash asked, "I don't know. But I bet they're fine" Zade replied, "You want to meet up with the others at the Inn?" Lash asked, "Sure" Zade replied and the two back to the Inn. 

When they got near the Inn, they saw people running out screaming and the sounds of something smashing inside, Lash and Zade rushed into the Inn to see Nevau in his Aragón armor but without the helmet fighting Patrick, Vencen, Ruby and Mystic, Lash and Zade immediately rushed to their aid with Lash using his blaze kick on Nevau kicking him into a wall and Zade firing a spirit orb towards Nevau, Lash and Zade rushed up to the five and saw that Vencen was badly injured, "Zade!" Mystic and Eleana said when she saw Zade, "What going on?" Lash asked, "Well sometime after you left for a walk, I went to get something to eat when Nevau walked in and started attacking, and she injured Vencen just before you two got here!" Mystic explained, "Wait! She?" Lash asked confused, his answer was replied with an arrow narrowly missing his waist, Lash turned around to see Violet.

Nevau walked out of the hole he was in and saw Zade, "Long time no see" Nevau said to Zade with bitterness in his voice, Zade didn't reply but rather gave Nevau a dark glare, "You two know each other?" Violet asked, Nevau nodded his head in response, Violet pulled an arrow from its quiver and pulled it back on the string on her bow and fired it the arrow landed between Zade and Lash, the two heard a click noise and immediately grabbed the person who were next to them which was Ruby and Mystic, Patrick picked up the injured Vencen and Eleana and leaped back, the three managed to avoid the explosion from the arrow.

"Are you alright?" Zade asked Ruby, "Yes! Thank you" Ruby thanked dusting herself off, "That was a close one!" Patrick said and placed Vencen against a wall and placing Eleana on her feet, "You okay Mystic?" Lash asked, "Y-yes I'm alright" Mystic replied, "Oh boo! None of you got hit with my explosive arrow!" Violet pouted, "It doesn't matter any way" Nevau said, he then reached into a pouch which was attached to his belt and pulled out a gem and held it towards Eleana, Eleana was pulled towards Neavu and Violet, "Gotcha~" Violet smiled before knocking Eleana out, "Met us outside of town to the west in an hour!" Nevau said before using another gem to teleport just as Lash tried to kick him, "Damn it!" Lash growled, "Come on, no point standing around for an hour let's go after them!" Zade told Lash, Lash nodded and turned to the others, "Stay here! Me and Lash are going after them!" Zade said to the others, "Right! Me, Patrick and Ruby will get Vencen to a medic!" Mystic replied and Lash and Zade then bolted out of the Inn and headed west. 

When Eleana awoke she found herself tied to a tree with chains and duct tape strapped to her mouth, she heard Nevau and Violet bickering about something which made Eleana remember the times that Zade and him argued, "Well anyway they'll be here soon!!" Nevau said with an annoyed sigh, "By the way, happened to Lash at Korma village exactly?" Violet asked, "I don't know, and perhaps Mortem know either" Nevau replied, "But one thing Mortem is sure of is that the amount of Darkness seething off of his body was an unnatural amount even for an Acadian" he said, he then peered over his shoulder to see Eleana was awake and walked up to her and removed the duct tape from her mouth, and before she could speak,they noticed Lash and Zade heading towards them, "Oh good they came. So who gets who?" Violet asked, "I'll deal with Zade, you deal with Lash!" Nevau ordered and the two dashed towards the Lash and Zade. 

"Here they come!" Zade told Lash, Lash pulled out Fenrir and blocked Violets's attack, while Zade summoned his scythe and and swung at Nevau, Nevau lept into the air and surrounded his right leg in stone and tried to axe kick Zade, Zade dodged the attack and grabbed Nevau with spectral grasp and began crushing Nevau, but Nevau broke out of the spectral grasp and grabbed his sword and dashed towards Zade and swung his sword with Zade blocking his attack. 

Violet blocked Lash's sword with her bow and Lash forced her back and fired a fireball at her, Violet stumbled backwards as the fireball hit her chest, Violet grabbed an arrow from her quiver and fired it at Lash, he dodged it, but heard a click and was knocked off of his feet by an explosion that happened behind him, but he quickly got back on his feet and ran towards Violet with his leg bursting flames, Violet ducked under Lash's blaze kick and Lash was smacked by a large vine, which then wrapped around his left ankle and slammed him hard onto the ground.

Nevau commanded a large pillar of earth towards Zade, but Zade threw his scythe which cut through the the pillar of earth and towards Nevau, Nevau ducked to avoid the scythe and Zade caught it when it returned to him, he then opened a large electric orange portal just above Nevau and a large spectral palm emerged from the portal and towards Nevau, Nevau dodge rolled to avoid the spectral slam and slammed his foot on the ground and a large chunk of the ground was lifted off of the ground and Nevau punched the large chunk of ground towards Zade, who sliced the it in half vertically.

Lash got back and ran towards Violet, he placed Fenrir on his back and ignited his leg in flames again and tried to kicked Violet's neck, she ducked and Lash ignited his left and kicked Violet in the stomach, he then grabbed her right ankle with his left hand and punched her hard in the stomach and onto the ground, she bounced off of the ground and Lash ignited his right leg and axe kicked her, Violet quickly got up and kicked Lash back and commanded the same large vine to hit Lash, Lash shot jet of flames from his hands before spewing a large wave of fire from his mouth burning the vine to a crisp.

"You know I'm curious on what you beast form is" Zade said to Nevau, both of them were panting in exhaustion, "Very well. I'm going to enjoy crushing you" Nevau smiled and he began to grow until he was as tall as Patrick, his chest armor, shoulder pads and the upper half of his chain mail burst off his muscular body with only the gauntlets and arm guards remaining, his skin turned a dark purple and a single horn emerged from his forehead.

"So you're an Ogre. Do you have layers?" Zade asked, "Uh... I guess" Nevau replied, "You know what else has layers?" Zade asked with a cheeky smile behind his mask, "Zade! No!" Nevau growled immediately catching on, "An Onion!" Zade said with a cheeky smile while pulling an onion out of nowhere, Nevau responded by kicking Zade hard in the chin, "I regret NOTHING!!!" Zade yelled as he flew through the air, he then ran back and stood in front of Nevau, "Anyway... show me your beast form if you have one" Nevau said crossing his arms, Zade smiled behind his mask, his ears became pointy and a monkey tail popped out.

"Ta-da!" Zade said a cheeky tone, "Seriously... you're... a Monkey Elf..." Nevau asked with a sweat drop, "Yes I am!" Zade answered readying his scythe and firing a large spectral orb at Nevau, the orb hit Nevau hard in the chest and sent him skidding back. 

"Well if they're transforming then why don't we!" Violet said to Lash, Lash nodded and changed into his dragon-human form, while Violet's lower half changed into that of a snake with red scales, her pupils constricted and red scales appeared on her cheeks and her ears became pointed, her clothes changed into armor which covered everything but her midriff.

"This is my beast form Lash! I'm an Lamia!" Violet smiled, she then fired fifteen arrows at Lash, who began running to avoid the explosions when each of the fifteen arrows hit the ground and fired a fireball towards Violet who blocked the fireball with her tail and sending four large vines towards Lash who lept his into the air and creating a giant fireball, "Super NOVA!!!" Lash yelled throwing the giant fireball which incinerated the four vines, but Violet quickly slithered away from the super nova just in time to avoid its explosion when it touched the ground sending small chunks of dirt and grass everywhere, Lash landed on the ground and caught an arrow that was shot towards him and burned it to a crisp.

Zade blocked attack after attack from Nevau, but Nevau then grabbed Zade's scythe and threw him but Zade landed and fired a spectral orb at Nevau, Nevau blocked the attack and was headbutted by Zade, Nevau stumbled backwards and Zade low kicked Nevau tripping him over and punching Nevau hard enough to knock him out, Nevau reverted back to his human form and Zade ran up to the tree where Eleana was tied up to and freed her by breaking the chains with little effort, they then turned around and waited Lash to finish fighting Violet. 

Lash dodged arrow after arrow and spewed a large wave of fire, which Violet quickly avoided it and charged towards Lash and changed and swung her tail at him, Lash lept into the air and landed next to Violet and hit her with Hellbreaker sending her hurling towards a large boulder which shattered on contact with Violet knocking her out and ran up to Zade and Eleana, after making sure she was safe, they turned around to see that Nevau and Violet were and after looking around for them, the three decided headed back to Teraku town. 

On their way back however Lash felt his heartbeat slow down and he almost collapsed to the ground, but Zade caught him lifted him to his feet, "Are you alright? Your not looking to good" Zade said, 'Yeah... I'm fine. Just feeling a little lightheaded is all" Lash said, Zade let go of Lash and Lash took a few breathes before letting Zade and Eleana know he was okay and the three then continued heading back to Teraku town.


	33. A storm is brewing!

The seven had set up camp on their way to the kingdom of Shinzo, after receiving news on someone who might know something about the Golems, while everyone else had gone to sleep, Lash sat on a log and watched the night sky as the fire burned the sticks and leftover rubbish, he sighed as he looked at his right arm, and looked back at the fire before laying down on the grass and closed his eyes and listen to the chirping of the crickets.

Just then Lash heard the sound of leaves rustling and quickly turned around in the direction the sound and got into a battle position, he summon Fenrir and changed the blade in the metal gauntlets, as the rustling got closer Lash prepared himself to ignite a fireball and throw it at whatever was heading in the camp's direction, Lash ignited the fireball and was ready to throw it until he saw who was making the rustling sound, out of the bushes was young man around about seventeen years old a year younger than Lash, who had a black poofy Afro, dark skin, hazel eyes, a slightly chubby build and his clothes consist of a dark red t-shirt underneath a black zip-up jacket, dark blue shorts, white socks and grey sneakers.

Lash dismissed the fireball and Fenrir when he recognized the person, "Zyker!" Lash yelled happily to Zyker, "Lash!" Zyker replied back when he saw Lash, and quickly ran up to Lash, "It's good to see you're alright" Lash smiled, "Same here!" Zyker said, "Quick question but is Lyra with you?" Lash asked, "Yeah she is with me!" Zyker said and as on cue a young woman about Lash's age emerged from the bushes, she had sandy blonde hair, light blue eyes, she wore oval shape reading glasses, light blue t-shirt, dark blue jeans, black lace-up sneakers, and a cat eared beanie.

"Yo Lyra!" Lash waved to Lyra, "Ah Lash it's good to see you aren't dead yet?" Lyra joked, "Not yet at least!" Lash chuckled, "Hey Lash are Mystic, Zade, Eleana and Nevau with you?" Zyker asked, "Mystic, Eleana and Zade yes, but Nevau it's a long story, I'll wake up Mystic and we'll explain" Lash replied, he then went to Mystic tent and woke her up, luckily for him she had fell asleep with her clothes on and left her tent and saw Lyra and Zyker, she greeted them and sat down on a log next to Lash opposite to Lyra and Zyker and the two began to explain what has been happening lately. 

"So Nevau is helping the bad guys and you don't know his reason why?" Lyra asked, "Yeah, he's definitely not being mind controlled that's for sure" Lash replied, after a while "I'm still sleepy, don't stay up too late you three, even you Lash" Mystic said going back to her tent, "Damn she knows me too well now!" Lash chuckled, "Anyone could know your sleeping habits well after meeting you!" Lyra said with a smirk, "Oh yeah during one of our fights with Mortem we managed to weaken him but I lost my lower part of my right leg!" Lash said showing Lyra and Zyker his mechanical leg, "Ouch! That must of hurt" Lyra cringed, "Oh yeah! Lash you know how you transformed into a humanoid dragon during your fight with Cyber" Zyker said, "Yeah" Lash replied, "Well check this out!" Zyker said transforming into a dragon-human, but unlike Lash's form, Zyker's was icy blue in color, his Afro changed into spiky hair, his arms had slight cracks in them as cold air flowed out of the cracks, there was a fin-like spike on his head and back of his neck, his body weight remained the same, and two bat-like wing sprouted from his back.

"Neat! your a Dragon-Human too!?" Lash asked shocked, "Yeah, I'm an Ice Dragon" Zyker smiled changing back to normal, "What about you Lyra?" Lash asked, "I'll show when it, when I feel like it" Lyra replied, "Fair enough, I'll introduce you two to the others in the morning but for now let's get to bed" Lash said, Lyra and Zyker nodded, Lash went back into his bed and Lyra and Zyker set up their tents and went to bed. 

In the morning, "Zyker!!!!" Zade said happily, "Zade!!!" Zyker also replied happily and high five each other, Zade then turned to Lyra, "Lyra" Zade said deadpanned, "Zade" Lyra replied deadpanned as well, "Eleana! You're okay!" Zyker smiled when he saw Eleana, Eleana nodded and Mystic introduced Lyra and Zyker to Patrick, Ruby and Vencen and explained to the two where they were heading and the eight headed to Shinzo kingdom. 

In a random forest on Soncosa; the bandit leader of the Lightning Fox Gang, sat up after having a little nap with a serious look on his face, his second in command; Linda approached him, "What's wrong sir?" She asked, "There's a storm brewing I can sense. Linda gather the others we're moving out to Shinzo kingdom!" Cyber ordered, "Yes sir!" Linda replied. 

In the captain's barracks in a Kingdom named Zelpius, the captain of the wolf brigade knights and Mystic's brother Mayhem sat on a chair in his office while reading a book and drinking tea he heard a knock on his door, "Come in!" Mayhem said, the door opened a young man about eighteen years old walk in, the young man had blood red spiky red hair, sky blue eyes, and wore blood red and ink black armor stepped into the room it was Mayhem's lieutenant; Zeke.

"What do you want Zeke?" Mayhem asked still reading his book, "Sir we've just received a letter from Shinzo kingdom, it's for your eyes.... uh... well eye only!" Zeke said passing the letter to Mayhem, Mayhem opened the letter and read it, "Zeke gather the men we deploy immediately!" Mayhem said, "Yes sir!" Zeke saluted and headed off to gather the men. 

Back with the group, the nine stopped and looked up at the sky, "Can you feel that?" Ruby asked, "Yeah, it feels like things are about to get interesting!" Lash smirked.

In a library in the middle of nowhere; Mortem slammed a large sack of coins which slightly startled the librarian, the librarian had long shoulder length hair with locks of hair overlapping and two parts of his hair slicking up to look almost like horns the shoulders of his work uniform, he had fierce yellow tired eyes and a sleek smile with a name tag that said Cyrus.

"May I help you?" Cyrus asked with his smile still on his face, "Yes I want information!" Mortem growled, "Well you've come to the right man~!" Cyrus said while chuckling menacingly.


	34. Shinzo Kingdom

After ten days and the nine had arrived at Shinzo Kingdom, and the group had decided split up to take a look around, group one was Lash, Mystic, Vencen, Eleana and Zade, and Group two was Zyker, Lyra, Patrick and Ruby. 

"I feel like we should get a change of clothes" Mystic said, "Huh?" Lash replied, "Look apart from Zade, we've been in these clothes for ten weeks!" Mystic explained, "Yeah I guess you're right" Vencen said, as he and Lash looked at their clothes, the five went to look for a clothes store. 

Lyra, Patrick, Zyker and Ruby walked into the kingdom's inn to rent a room, "I really hate these musky places" Ruby whined, "It has been how long and you're still whining about that?" Patrick asked, as Lyra ordered eight rooms, "Well! Well! Well as I live and breathe it's Lash's friends" a familiar voice said to Lyra and Zyker, the four turned around to see Cyber walking towards them with his hands in his pockets, "What's up!" Cyber greeted, "Cyber!" Lyra and Zyker muttered. 

Lash was going through a selection of sleeveless hoodies which had become bit of his style of clothing until he found something he liked, a black sleeveless zip-up hoodie with dark blue shoulders and dark blue ribs, next he picked a pair of grey denim jeans, he continued to wear his gloves and boots, in the distance he heard people muttering about his arm but paid no attention to it, after he purchased them he went to put them on.

Mystic had purchased and was now wearing a black leather tank-top, black shorts, and grey red sneakers,, Vencen was now wearing a white and grey t-shirt, black track pants, black leather lace-up shoes, and Zade now wore a grey t-shirt, under a black hoodie, blue jeans and black steel-cap boots.

Eleana had chosen clothes that looked very similar to the ones she was wearing before along with a lavender purple scarf and lime green and pale purple lace-up boots, "All right let's go meet up with the others!" Mystic said after Lash had finished changing. 

"What are you doing here!?" Lyra asked, "What! Can't a guy just get some food?" Cyber replied, "That's not what she meant" Zyker said, "So... Where's Lash?" Cyber asked, "He's with Mystic" Lyra said, "Well I guess I'll wait for him then" Cyber said, "Why?" Zyker asked, "I have my reasons" Cyber replied, "Who is this guy?" Ruby asked, "I don't know" Patrick replied, and the four went and ordered a table and waited for the others to arrive.

Eventually group 1 step into the Inn and walked up to the table where group 2 were, Lash immediately recognized Cyber and threw up his fist ready to block a sucker punch from Cyber but, "Calm down I'm not here to fight!" Cyber said raising up a hand "So how ya been?" Cyber asked, "Um... fine..." Lash replied, "Why are you here Cyber?" Eleana asked, "Well, I thought I'd let you all know that there have been sightings of some freaky creatures heading in this direction. Whelp see ya" Cyber told the group as he stood up and left.

After Cyber left everyone sat down at a table, "So Mortem's on his way here!" Patrick said, "Yeah! So the Golems are either here or there is a clue to their whereabouts" Vencen said, "Right. So we should take a look around, after we've had something to eat!" Zade said and the group began ordering some food. 

Outside of Shinzo's walls to the south west, "Well how was it boss?" Linda asked when Cyber returned, "Well I ran into Lash and his group of friends again" Cyber replied, "Is that what you sensed ten days ago?" Linda asked, Cyber shook his head in disagreement, "No what I sense in the winds is still coming, so we better be prepared!" Cyber told his gang, "What do you think is coming boss, a short bald dark skin man in his mid-twenties, who wore a coat made out of bear pelts and wore leather shorts and boots.

"I don't know Borcus, but I know it's going to be very dangerous!" Cyber said, "Ah we can take them, after all we are the Lightning Fox gang, aren't we!" Borcus boasted with confidence, "Yeah! I guess you're right Borcus. Hey Torba!" Cyber said to a long silver haired Asian looking woman, who wore a short black sleeveless top, black jeans with the right jean leggings torn off, black boots and black gloves.

"Yes boss!" Torba replied, "Crack open the beer kegs! Cause drinks are on me!" Cyber grinned, "Yes boss!" Torba smiled smashing open a few kegs and dipping some cups into the liquid and passing one to Cyber and Linda while Borcus grabbed one of the kegs and drank from that while Torba sighed. 

Inside the Shinzo castle, "Your highness you requested to see me?" Mayhem asked King Gavin, "Yes! Captain, thirteen days ago our scouts saw an army of monsters led by a man whose face is shrouded by a hood, a knight wearing black and yellow armor, a woman wearing rogue armor, and a bald man wearing a suit heading towards the kingdom and I doubt my army is enough to deal with them, so I've called for you and solders aid captain!" King Gavin explained, "I see... I will have my solders get prepared immediately!" Mayhem said and left the room.

As he walked through the corridors he was approached by his lieutenant, "Captain! I've just receive reports of your sister and her friends are in the kingdom!" Zeke told Mayhem, "Is that so?" Mayhem replied, "Should I we go and see her?" Zeke asked, "No! We have more important tasks right now! Come! We have to get the men ready!" Mayhem said as he and Zeke walked off. 

"Master we're nearly to Shinzo Kingdom, I'd say we'll be there in an hour!" Nevau informed Mortem, "Excellent, soon very soon the power I've sought for so long will be in my grasp!" Mortem said as he bursted out into an evil laughter, Nevau left his master to his laughter, as he walked down the corridor of the mobile fortress that Mortem created for the assault that would soon come, the one thought that Nevau keep having ever since his identity of being the knight; Aragón was revealed to Lash, 'Am I doing the right thing?' Nevau doubted, "Yo what's up" a male's voice said behind Nevau, Nevau turned around to see two member of the disbanded Crimson Wolf Bandits; Zen and Kasai, Zen had spiky hot pink hair, and wore his bandit uniform and Kasai had light blue hair and she also wore her bandit uniform, "What do you two want?" Nevau asked, "Oh nothing... Just curious on how it feels to betray your friends? So how does it feel? Ah! Who am I kidding you probably feeling pretty bad about? But anyway me and Kasai have to prepare so have fun" Zen mocked Nevau as he walked away with Kasai, "I hope by the end of this he dies!" Nevau mumbled as he place his helmet back on. 

"Captain the our men as well as the solders of Shinzo Kingdom are prepared and ready for battle!" Zeke informed Mayhem, "Good, how long did the scouts say that the threat will be here by?" Mayhem asked as he drank a cup of tea, "An hour Captain" Zeke said, "Very well get the archers ready!" Mayhem ordered, "Yes Captain!" Zeke saluted and left the room.

"Can you guys feel that?" Cyber asked, "Yeah the ground shaking and this doesn't feel like an earthquake, somethings coming and it's big!" Borcus said feeling the ground shake, "Gang! Gear up and let's head inside of the walls!" Cyber ordered, "Right!" Cyber's gang agreed, the gang packed up their gear and headed into the Kingdom walls. 

"Hey guys can you feel that?" Lash asked, "Yeah! Is it an earthquake?" Eleana asked, "No this doesn't feel like an earthquake... somethings coming towards the Kingdom!" Patrick answered, "You don't think it's Mortem!?" Ruby asked, "Possibly!" Patrick replied, "Well then we better gear up and get ready!" Mystic told the nine, "She's right!" Zade agreed, the nine stepped outside of the Inn.

Once the group exit the Inn they just barely avoided a giant fireball landing in front of the Inn which send shards of concrete everywhere and Lash quickly looked at the sky to see another giant fireball hurling towards them, "Here comes another one!" Lash alerted the others, "I got this one!" Patrick said quickly taking off his coat and summoned his warhammer and thwacked the fireball back to where it originated from, "Where the hell did those come from?" Lyra asked, suddenly the nine heard the sound of wood smashing and people screaming as they ran pass the nine, and then they saw what was chasing the townsfolk, "What are those!?" Zyker asked, "Abominations! They're Mortem's minions!" Vencen answered, "All right guys let's take them out!" Mystic yelled summoning her staff, the others did the same and they charged at the horde of Abominations.

As they cut down the Abominations and were quickly joined by the kingdom's knights led by Zeke, "Who is that?" Lash asked, "That Zeke! He's my brother lieutenant" Mystic answered, Lash then felt someone grab him by the collar and was thrown eighteen meters away from the group, Lash screamed as he flew through the air and the same thing happened to Zyker.

"Dodge!" Patrick yelled at Zade, "Huh?" Zade replied, Zade notice someone charging towards him and blocked the blade of a sword with his scythe, "Nevau!" Zade growled and he quickly led Nevau away from the others, "I have a feeling that our group is getting split up!" Patrick said, "So should we do that?" Mystic asked, "Might as well split up and diver the abominations attention away from the townsfolk!!" Patrick said and with that the group split up. 

Zyker landed on the concrete with a thud, "Ow! who did that?" Zyker asked, a familiar face landed in front of him, "Oh god dammit!" Zyker muttered when he saw Zen, "So how have you been Zyker? Missed me?" Zen asked "Not really! But how are you alive?" Zyker asked, "Well days after you cut my head off, Master Mortem resurrected me along with Kasai and by the way I'm absolutely thrilled to pay you back for what you did to me and boy am I gonna make you scream!!!" Zen laughed crazily with an psychotic grin, "Of course I get the insane one!" Zyker mumbled. 

Lash managed to regain his balance and landed onto his legs, "Who are you?" Lash asked Kasai, "I am Kasai former member of the disbanded Crimson Wolf Bandits and I know who you are!" Kasai introduced herself, "Oh good! I don't need to introduce myself then!" Lash said, "Indeed. You have been a pest to my master's plan for too long now! Now prepare to die!" Kasai charged at Lash. 

Mystic managed to kill ten abominations and was joined by Cyber who saved her from being sneaked attacked by Violet, "Oh my... Being saved by another man are we and I thought you had the hots for Lash. Mystic?" Violet asked with sarcasm in her voice while placing a hand her cheek, "Violet why are you and your master here?" Mystic asked ignoring Violet's attempt to rile her up, "And why should I tell you that my master is making his way to the castle as we speak, but I'm not letting you pass until you beat me" Violet said drawing her bow, while Mystic had an annoyed look on her face while Cyber scratched his head in confusion. 

Patrick crushed the skulls of the abominations as he rushed towards the castle, after he got a glimpse of seeing Mortem heading in that direction, he was also joined by Borcus and Torba, the two said that they were on Patrick's side and that they knew Cyber, while being a little weary of them Patrick let them help him as they ran through they city they were intercepted by Lex and two hooded creatures, "What are those?" Borcus asked, "They're Wraiths! Borcus!" Torba replied, "Sorry but I'm not letting you three pass!" Lex said smugly. 

Lyra and Ruby managed to protect the townsfolk with the help of Zeke and Linda and the four began rushing towards the castle once they saw Mortem but were intercepted by Wraiths as well, "Keep your guard up everyone and follow my lead!" Zeke told the girls, "Why should we do that?" Lyra asked, "Do you want all your life force to be completely drained?" Zeke replied, "Fine!" Lyra said and the four drew their weapons as the wraiths charged at them 

Eleana and Vencen were ahead and with the help of Zade who was still fighting Nevau blocked the attack Nevau had aimed at the two, "Go on ahead I'll catch up with you lot!" he said as the two rushed on ahead, on the way to the castle, Eleana tripped over and injured her knee, two Wraiths caught wind of them and fired two blue fireballs at Eleana, Eleana closed her eyes tightly but Vencen lept in front of Eleana and took the blast head, "Vencen!!!" Eleana cried in shock, Vencen shrugged off the pain and fired two black spheres at the Wraiths and obliterated them from existence, "T-thank you Vencen" Eleana thanked Vencen, "Don't mention it! But do you know any healing magic?" Vencen asked, "Yes" Eleana replied and she quickly healed her leg and quickly healed Vencen injuries, "You didn't have to do that you know!" Eleana scolded Vencen, Vencen didn't reply and after Eleana had finished healing his injuries he helped Eleana back up to her feet and the two quickly rushed towards the castle once again. 

Lash dodged Kasai's attacks and counter attacked, Kasai ducked and strucked Lash in the stomach with her fist, Lash staggered back and took and deep breath of air and used his Fire Dragon's Breath attack spewing a wave of fire towards Kasai, she lept out of the fire and fired a jet of water towards Lash, he also lept out of the way but when the jet of water hit the ground and caused an explosion which knocked Lash off his feet and sent him hurling into a building wall. 

Zyker avoided Zen's attack and thrusted his rapier into Zen's left shoulder, Zen angrily slashed back but Zyker quickly dodge and thew and icicle into Zen's left shoulder where he stabbed Zen with his rapier, "Grrrrrragh!" Zen scream in pain and furiously charged towards Zyker, Zyker placed his right palm on the ground and froze it which caused Zen to slip and land on his back, "D-damn IT!!!! I can't be losing to you again!!!" Zen screamed in frustration, "It's because you're mainly all bark and no bite!" Zyker said, "Oh YOU want BITE! I'LL GIVE YOU BITE!!!" Zen yelled and proceed to transform into a a bulky demon looking creature with grey skin two bull horn going upwards and rows of razor sharp teeth and two glowing yellow beady eye that stared at Zyker with hatred. 

Zade swung his scythe aiming to disarm Nevau, Neavu jump backwards and smashed his fist on the ground causing a small quake, but Zade quickly lept in the air and landed on a roof of a building and motion his clenched his his right hand into fist, Nevau felt the ground beneath him beginning to shake and he barely avoided being grabbed by a giant specture-like hand, Zade took the chance while Nevau was distracted and drop kicked him in face knocking his helmet off and knocking him out, "I'll deal with you later!" Zade growled to an unconscious Nevau "Now I think I saw Vencen and Eleana heading towards that castle!" Zade said and ran as fast as he could to catch up with the two. 

Zyker quickly dodged demon form Zen's attacks, and waited for an opening, once he saw his chance he quickly dashed towards Zen and froze Zen's body completely and then with a single thrust shattered Zen in to pieces, "Too bad Eleana wasn't around to see me do that I would've look so cool in front of her!" Zyker said and almost fantasizing about Eleana until he heard Zade voice, "Zyker! Eleana and Vencen are heading towards that castle so come on!" Zade told Zyker, "Right!" Zyker replied and began to follow Zade. 

"Okaaaay... Was not expecting to fight someone who can control water!" Lash muttered under his breath as he got back up onto his feet, Lash charged at Kasai and tried to punch her, Kasai ducked and tried to kick Lash in the chin but he moved to the side and used his blaze kick to strike Kasai, Kasai wan't fast enough to dodge the attacked and was sent skidding across the ground, Lash then fired a fireball powerful enough to knock her out, "Lash!" Mystic's voice called out to him, Lash turned to the direction of where he heard Mystic and saw her and Cyber running towards him, "Lash! Mortem is heading towards the castle!" Mystic told Lash, "Well let's go!" Lash said wasting no time and running towards the castle with Cyber and Mystic. 

Vencen and Eleana were the first to arrive at the castle and stood outside waiting for the others to catch up, once Zade, Zyker, Lyra, Ruby, Torba, Borcus, Linda, Zeke, Patrick, Lash, Mystic and Cyber arrived they quickly headed inside the castle and made their way to the throne room where they saw Mortem fighting against Mayhem.

Mayhem struck Mortem in the shoulder, Mortem angrily slashed Mayhem but his fazed through Mayhem and he disappeared, "H-he disappeared!?" Lyra said in disbelief, "No look to Mortem's right!" Mystic said firmly, Mayhem appeared on Mortem's right and slashed his arm, Mortem tried to behead Mayhem but Mayhem disappeared and reappeared behind Mortem and slashed his back, Mortem gritted his teeth in pain and again tried to strike Mayhem down, as the others watched the fight between Mortem and Mayhem, Lash turned to Mystic, "Hey Mystic, what's your brother's powers?" he asked her, "My brother is an expert at illusion magic" Mystic replied, Mayhem dodged a series of furious slashes from Mortem with ease and slashed Mortem's chest, "Damn it! Why am I wasting my time with an insolent brat as you!" Mortem growled and changed his focus from Mayhem to three bystanders watching who were; the king, his daughter and the court wizard, "Give me the map! You senile old fool!!!" Mortem yelled with anger in his voice.

"Patrick!" Lash turned to Patrick, "Yeah! I'm with you!" Patrick grinned and grabbed Lash by the collar of his shirt, "LASH CANNON!!!" Patrick yelled throwing Lash with full force, Lash shot through the air like speeding bullet towards Mortem, "+ HellBreaker!!!!" Lash yelled as his right fist ignited with electric blue and purple energy, Mortem turned around to see what was happening behind him only receive a fist to his face and was sent bouncing off the ground and through the wall, Lash skidded on the ground as he slowed down, "That was for Mystic and my leg you bastard!" Lash spat, "Captain!" Zeke said as he and Mystic ran up to Mayhem, "Sir! All of the civilians have been evacuated to a safe place!" Zeke informed Mayhem, "Good work and Mystic why are you here?" Mayhem asked, "Well it's like this..." Mystic began explaining the situation to Mayhem.

"Hey Lash what was that?" Zyker asked as he and the others walked up to Lash, "What was what?" Lash asked, "When Patrick threw you when did you two come up with that?" Zyker asked, "Oh that... yeah two days before you ran into us we got into a fight with some highwaymen and Patrick out of nowhere grabs me by the collar and throws me. I flew passed them and fell into a lake!" Lash said with annoyed expression as Patrick smiled nervously, "You almost caught a cold as well after that" Zade said. 

"D-damn it I can't believe I'm being made a fool of by you insolent brats!" Mortem growled as he stumbled out of the hole in the wall, everyone got into a fighting stance, "He's still alive after that!?" Ruby said shocked, just then everyone heard four footsteps and out of one of the hallways and into the throne room were Nevau with his helmet on holding a rolled up map in one hand and a teal cat with orange triangular stripes in the other, Violet who was badly bruised and her shirt slightly ripped, Lex who was also badly bruised and his clothes tattered, and Kasai who's clothes were slightly burnt.

"Master we got the map!" Lex told Mortem, "Excellent work you lot!" Mortem smiled, "Zero!" the princess gasped when she saw the badly bruised cat, "Sorry your highness..." Zero apologized to the princess, "Nevau walked and placed the cat into the princess' arms and walked up and handed the map to Mortem, "Wait did that cat just talk!?" Lash asked confused, "Lash that isn't the issue right now!" Lyra growled at Lash, Mortem unrolled the map and took a look, and a wicked smile grew on his, "So the ruins of the temple of Gigalith where the golems are located is not far from here!" Mortem then began to laughed and teleported himself along with Nevau, Violet, Lex and Kasai just as Lash, Zeke and Cyber tried to strike Mortem.

"Damn it he got away!" Cyber growled, "We've got to stop him, but we don't know we those ruins are!" Mystic said, "Archimedes do you have a spare map we can use lying around?" Mayhem asked the court wizard, "Yes, I may be old but I am not senile!" Archimedes said and conjured a spare map, Mayhem unfolded the map and everyone took a look at the map, "So that's where the ruins are!" Patrick said, "Me and Zeke will gather men and meet you lot there!" Mayhem said passing the map to his sister and ran out to gather the men, "Me and my gang will also meet you there!" Cyber said and he and his gang ran out of the throne room. 

The nine were about to follow when... "Wait!" Zero said after Eleana had healed him when everyone was taking a look at the map, "Please take me with you!" Zero said, "Zero?" the princess asked, "Your highness please let me go with them! It was my fault that the map and the whereabouts of the golems fell into enemy hands!" Zero pleaded, "Very well!" the princess nodded, she walked up to Lash and handed him Zero, 'Please look after him!" the princess said, "Yes your highness!" Lash bow his head, Zero leaped onto Lash's right shoulder and the nine ran our of the throne room to stop Mortem once and for all.


	35. Golems awaken; Final battle with Mortem!

It was midnight and a gentle breeze brushed through the grass and trees as the group along with the Lightning Fox Gang and Mayhem and Zeke with the soldiers from Zelpius Kingdom and Shinzo Kingdom and Zero (who was standing on Lash's right shoulder) stood outside the ruins of the temple of Gigalith only to see that Mortem and his minions had arrived first to arrive at the temple, the doors were wide open and a horde of abominations and Wraiths waited outside guarding the door, "Okay so what's the plan, Captain Mayhem?" Zade asked Mayhem, "Me and the men will hold off Mortem's minions, no doubt that Mortem along with his four subordinates will be inside the ruins!" Mayhem replied, "We'll do the same! You guys go in there and kick that Mortem's smug ass!" Cyber grinned, "Alright on your command Mayhem!" Lash said cracking his knuckles. 

"CHARGE!!!" Mayhem yelled giving the command as he and his men along with the Lightning Fox Gang charged towards the horde of abominations and Wraiths, using this distraction the group ran into the temple ruins and down the corridors "So what kind of temple is this anyway?" Zyker asked, "Who knows first time I've been in one!" Vencen replied, the nine kept running until they to a room filled with chairs and an altar and behind the altar was a doorway to another corridor however standing in their way was Kasai.

"This as far as you all will go!" Kasai said getting into a fighting pose, "You guys go on ahead I'll deal with Kasai!" Mystic told the group as walked up to face Kasai, "But Mystic!" Eleana said, Mystic turned her head and smiled, "Go on ahead I'll catch up when I can" Mystic smiled, "Alright! Good luck and kick her ass!" Lash said with smiled, Mystic couldn't help but chuckled as the rest of the group headed off, "Nothing to say to me Mystic?" Kasai asked, "What is there to say? You're helping a man who wants to destroy the world by using ancient weapons of destruction!" Mystic said, "I don't really care what he does he pays well and I owe him after he had revived me!" Kasai said, with nothing else to say the two engaged in battle. 

As the group proceeded down through the temple, they ran into the rest of Mortem's subordinates, Eleana, Zyker, Lyra, Ruby and Zero stayed behind to fight Violet who was in her Lamia form, while a 20 meters ahead Patrick and Vencen were fighting Lex who had transformed into a nightmarish creature that was a mix between a lion, dragon and goat, as he transformed he had boasted that his master has blessed him with the power to finally destroy Patrick.

Lash and Zade ran through the temple, but came to halt as Nevau (without his helmet on) stood in their way, "Nevau! We don't have time to fight you! Get out of our WAY!" Lash yelled at Nevau, "Nevau why are you helping Mortem? Have you really lost your mind!?" Zade asked, "To be honest I was helping because he saved my life. And he told me was one who accidentally brought us here and said that if I helped him, he'd send us home!" Nevau explained, "And you actually believed that!?" Lash asked with an annoyed face, Nevau nodded his head in shame, "So are you going to buy time while Mortem reawakens the golems?" Zade asked bringing out his scythe, "I've been thinking it over, and I'm going to help you guys stop Mortem!" Nevau said, "Why?" Zade asked, "Because, I'm an idiot who betrayed my friends, and helped a mad man on his quest to destroy the world! So I'm sorry!" Nevau apologized, "You need to work on your apology there because that was lame and heavy handed!" Lash said, "Oh kiss my ass Lash! So are we gonna stop Mortem or not?" Nevau asked, "Yeah but I've got my eye on you!" Zade glared at Nevau. 

The three ran further down the corridor until they ran into a large round room, with the walls of the room crumbling apart and at the end of the room were the two golems with one appearing as a demon and the other looked like an angel, the Demon Golem had the symbol of omega on its forehead and the Angel Golem had the symbol of alpha on its chest, Mortem stood facing the three arms crossed and with a smug smile on his face, his hood was down and the three could see his face clearly, Mortem had bushy medium length chocolate brown hair, his left eye was a dark violet and his right was teal, he had a few scars probably ones received from Lash's HellBreaker, and band-aid on the bridge of his nose.

"So Nevau are you finally betraying me after all this time?" Mortem asked, "You knew that I was going to betray you?" Nevau asked, "Of course. It was only a matter of time before you started doubting your decision! But I digress it is time to end this!" Mortem said force pushing the three into the wall next to the door, "I must admit you've all grown stronger any normal humans would've of had their spines shattered, their ribs broken and the air in their lungs gone!" Mortem said with a stoic expression, "Mortem tell us something is it true that you were the one who brought us to Arcadia?" Zade asked, "Indeed I was but it was through an accident on my part! But if you're thinking that'll send you and your friends back to earth then keep dreaming because this room will be your graves!" Mortem said "Though bringing humans from another world is strange..." Mortem pondered.

Zade, Nevau and Lash took the opportunity to attack Mortem while he was lost in thought, Lash summoned Fenrir and changed it into its gauntlet form and strucked Mortem in the gut, Mortem gasped for air as he staggered backwards, Nevau ran and kicked Mortem in the face sending him off his feet, Zade quickly appeared behind him and struck him the back, Mortem coughed blood from the blow and dropped to his knees, "So you fools want to die that badly! Then you three be first to fall to the might of the golems But not before I beat you three half to death!!!" Mortem yelled and flew into the air and raising his right hand into the air, "JUDGEMENT SPIKES!!!" Mortem yelled firing thousands of the purple needles from his hand into the air, Zade, Nevau and Lash blocked the needles as best they can, but the needles slashed their arms, faces and tore bits of their clothes.

"I can feel my power RETURNING!!!" Mortem laughed, "Spectral grasp!!!" Zade yelled slamming both his hands on the ground, two dark orange spectral hand erupted from the ground and grabbed Mortem, "What the-!" Mortem said in surprised, "Lash are you ready?" Nevau asked, Lash nodded, "Terra snake!!!" Nevau said creating a rock-like snake underneath Lash, Lash rode the head of the Terra Snake, towards Mortem as the latter struggled to escape from the spectral grasp, "+ Fire Dragon's BREATH!!!" Lash yelled spewing a wave of fire, as the fire hurled towards Mortem, its colored changed from ordinary fire to pitch black flames, Lash, Zade, Nevau and Mortem were surprised by the change color in fire, Mortem screamed as the black flames strucked him.

Patrick blocked an attack from Lex with his hammer and retaliated by headbutting Lex in the face, Vencen ran behind Lex and sweep kicked his legs tripping the Chimera over, Patrick jump on top of Lex's torso with enough strength to shatter the Chimera's rips when he landed, Lex roared in pain as he force Patrick off of him and fire a large ball of fire from his mouth at Vencen, however Vencen blocked the attack with his sword and lept into the air and drop kicked Lex on the side of the neck, Lex stumbled sideways, "GIGANTIC HAMMER!!!" Patrick yelled and both his fist glowed a dark purple and he clenched his hands as he struck Lex in the chest, Lex felt a massive shock wave coarse through his body and he was sent flying into a wall, when collided with the wall blood escaped from his mouth, nose and eye sockets and eventually he landed on his knees gasping for air, "Give up Lex! You can't win!" Patrick told Lex, "N-no I won't give up I am the s-strongest there is! I WON'T GIVE UP!!! I WILL NEVER LOSE TO YOU!!!" Lex roared now in a berserker like stance as his body turned more monstrous.

And when his body had finished changing, Patrick could only look away in disgusted, "Patrick are you okay?" Vencen asked Patrick out of concern, "Vencen stay back! I'll end this" Patrick replied as he slowly walked towards the monstrous Chimera, as the Chimera began to charge towards Patrick, Patrick raise his hammer high in the air, Patrick took deep breathes as time felt like it began to slow down, Vencen felt a large amount of magical energy flow into Patrick's hammer and as Lex continue to gallop towards Patrick with jaws wide open.

Flashback:

In a small village; an eleven year old Lex and a ten year old Patrick panted heavily as they had finished beating a group of thugs that had ambushed them as rain began to pour onto the streets, "Hey Patrick?" Lex asked, "Yeah?" Patrick replied, "D-did we win?" Lex asked, "Well... I don't believe we lost!" Patrick replied, "Hey Patrick let's make a promise!" Lex said as he turned to face Patrick, "What is it?" Patrick asked, "When we get older we should have a competition to see who is the strongest!" Lex said holding out his hand, "Fine by me! As long as you don't go crying to your Mom about losing to me!" Patrick replied with a cheeky grin, "You're on! And I should say the same to you when I win!" Lex said with a smile and the two laughed as they head home.

End Flashback.

Hot tears began roll down Patrick's cheeks as he steadily held his hammer firmly into the air and when Lex was close enough, "Goodbye old friend..." Patrick said in a hushed tone and brought his hammer crashing onto Lex's head shattering his skull, Lex collapsed onto the floor as his body twitched four times before going limp, "Vencen" Patrick said to Vencen, "Yeah?" Vencen replied, "Go check up on the others! I need some time alone!" Patrick said, "Yeah... I understand" Vencen said as he slowly began to walk away, Patrick then dropped to his knees gripping the handle of his hammer tightly and gritting his teeth.

Eleana, Zyker, Lyra, Ruby and Zero who had transformed his body into a tiger hid behind a few pillars to avoid arrows being shot at them by Violet, "You guys are no fun!" Violet sighed and she slowly slithered towards the pillar Eleana was behind, Eleana took a deep breathe and exhaled, she then turned around and kicked the pillar she was hiding behind with all of her might, toppling the pillar over, "EH!?" Violet scream in surprise, she then revert back into her human form and jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the pillar falling on top of her.

"H-holy crap! T-that was a close one!" Violet stuttered in fright as she slowly turned her head towards Eleana, "Oops I must of over did it..." Eleana scratching the back of her head in embarrassment, "H-how strong is she?" Ruby asked surprised, "She wasn't originally this strong when we were on Earth!" Lyra replied, Eleana then turned to face Violet, with an angry look in her eyes, Violet felt a shiver run down her spine but also felt heartbeat begging to increase, "I-I surrender!" Violet slowly panted as she threw her hands into the air, "Okay... Zyker you knock her out!" Eleana said with a smile, Zyker walked up to Violet and placed a hand on her shoulder and sent a cold jolt through her body which was enough to put her to sleep.

Lyra then tied Violet's body up with rope to prevent her from attacking them if she woke, Vencen soon walked into the room and up to the five, "So you guys are finished here too?" Vencen asked, "Yup... Hey where's Patrick?" Eleana asked, soon after she had asked, Patrick walked into the room, "I'm here don't worry!" Patrick replied with a smile, "Are you feeling alright?" Vencen asked, "Yeah... I'm fine" Patrick replied with a smile, "Hey should we go help Lash and Zade?" Zyker asked, "No I think those two can this on their own!" Lyra said with confidence in her voice.

Mystic dodged an attack from Kasai and retaliated by throwing one of the chairs at her, Kasai jumped out of the way and shot a jet of water at Mystic, Mystic avoided attack and charged towards Kasai, Mystic pulled out her staff while Kasai pulled out her saber, Mystic swung her staff, but Kasai blocked the attack, Mystic then kicked her in the right shoulder with enough strength to dislocate the bone, Kasai clenched his teeth in pain as she was then thrown into a wall with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs and also to knock her out cold, Mystic then took a deep breath and exhaled and looked down at her clothes which had been torn sligly torn during her fight with Kasai.

Soon Mayhem walked in, "How's it going out there?" Mystic asked, "We're doing good. What about you?" Mayhem asked, "I just beat Kasai. But I'm going on ahead to see how the others are doing!" Mystic replied, "Very well! I'm going to put Kasai under arrest if that's fine with you" Mayhem said, "Go ahead! I'll see you later then!" Mystic said as she ran off ahead, Mayhem sighed to himself as he smiled, "It is good to see how strong she has become!" Mayhem smiled as he put handcuffs around Kasai's wrists and carried her out of the building.

Lash shook his head and quickly hopped off the Terra Snake just as it hit Mortem, knocking him through the air as the spectral grasp shattered on impacted, "Holy hell! Lash did you flames changed color?" Nevau asked, Lash ignited his left hand in the black fire, "Yeah it did!" Lash confirmed, "D-damn it! I will not LOSE!!!" Mortem screamed at the top of his lungs, he then rolled up his burnt right sleeve all the way up to the shoulder to reveal a black armband which Mortem tore off, his body suddenly started to grow taller and his body became muscular.

"He's roiding out!!!" Lash yelled in response to Mortem's transformation, "Now DIE!!!" Mortem yelled in gruff tone after his transformation was finished, he turned around and uppercut Zade and grabbed him by the left leg while he was in the air and threw him into Nevau, Mortem then charged towards Lash, Lash punched Mortem in the gut but it did nothing, "Oh no...." Lash said in a worry tone of voice, "Oh... yes...!" Zade said in a weak smartass tone, Mortem then punched Lash in the gut, and then again and again and again, Lash coughed out blood with each blow, Mortem then grabbed Lash by the arms and repeatedly headbutted him into the ground and then grabbed him by left leg and ran up to both Zade and Nevau who had both just got back onto their feet and smashed them with Lash, the three got back onto their feet only for Mortem to sledgehammer Zade onto the ground, spin kicked Nevau in the ribs and back hand Lash into a nearby wall, "Hahahahaha!!! How do you weakling like my strength form! You should feel honored you are the only ones to see this form aside from myself!" Mortem laughed. 

Time felt it began to slow down as Lash fell off the wall "D-damn it. Is this where it ends after all this way and we still can't beat him!? No. We're going to win! I just need more power, I need the power to protect my friends and Mystic! So I WON'T LOSE!!!" Lash yelled in his mind and his body lit up in a electric blue aura when he slammed his foot down onto the ground, Mortem notice this and saw that Zade's body lit up in electric pink aura and Nevau's body was surround in a dark purple aura, "What is this!?" Mortem asked with a confused expression, the three got back up onto their feet, as their bodies were still surrounded in their respected aura, the three then roared at the top of their lungs as their aura glowed brighter. 

Lash's hair spiked up and turned blood red, his icy blue eyes became a piercing yellow, with black fire wings sprouted from his back, Zade's hair also spiked up and turned electric pink, his eyeballs turned black while his iris turned pale white along with his skin, a reaper robe appeared on Zade's torso, but was open like a trench coat with skull shoulder pads and skull knee-pads, Nevau's hair also spiked up and turned dark green his left eyeball turned dark purple with the iris changing into lime green earth dragon skull and his right iris turning dark purple, his arms turned into his ogre from arms but with spike emerging from the forearms.

"W-what the hell!? What is this? What are those forms!?" Mortem yelled in surprise and confusion, Lash vanished and reappearing in front of Mortem and punched in the gut this time doing damage, when Lash's fist connected a small explosion could be seen, "I'm Flame Lash!" Lash answered before spin kicking Mortem in the neck towards Zade, "I'm Spirit Zade!" Zade said summoning a giant skeletal hand to uppercut Mortem, "And I'm Terra Nevau!" Nevau said jumping into the air above Mortem and commanding two Terra Snakes to strike Mortem back onto the ground.

Lash threw his hands into the air and created a giant fireball, "Bigger! *The fireball grew in three more sizes* Bigger! *It grew again* Bigger! *It grew one more size* Perfect! BLACK FLAME NOVA!!!" Lash yelled throwing the massive fireball towards Mortem, the fireball hit Mortem and he screamed in pain, Zade aimed his right hand at Mortem and placed his left hand on his right elbow and a electric pink beam formed in his hand, "NAIL GUN!!!" Zade yelled firing the beam, "How cute he name it- OH SHIT!!!" Mortem yelled when the beam struck him and sent nearly hurling off the edge where the golems stood. 

"T-That's it I'm ending this now! AWAKEN GOLEMS AND LAY WASTE TO ALL THAT STAND IN YOUR WAY!!!" Mortem yelled pulling out the cores, the cores lit up and shot into their respected golem, the golems awaken with the Demon Golem turning from stone grey to dark red, and the Angel Golem turned from stone grey to light blue, "Yes! Yes! YES AT LONG LAST THEY ARE AWAKEN! NOW THIS WORLD WILL FINALLY BE DROPPED TO ITS KNEES HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Mortem laughed hysterically even when the Demon Golem slammed its right fist on top of him and sent him plummeting into the dark abyss below.

"Alright we should take them down before they do any real damage!" Zade said, "How?" Nevau asked, "A combination attack!" Zade said charging up the nail gun, "Alright let's end this!" Lash said charging up the phoenix blast which was an electric blue and purple beam, Nevau charged up his beam attack which was dark purple and pale green, "NAIL GUN!!!!" Zade yelled firing the beam, "PHOENIX BLAST!!!" Lash yelled firing his beam, "TERRA CANNON!!!" Nevau yelled firing his beam, the three beams combined into one beam, the two Golems fired a dark red and light blue beam to repel the combined beam but it failed and Lash, Zade and Nevau's beams strucked them and caused a giant explosion. 

The three drop to their knees exhausted, Lash's black fire wings extinguish, his hair and eyes returned to normal, Zade's coat, shoulder and knee-pads vanished, and his hair and eyes returned to normal, and Nevau's arms returned to normal along with his hair and eyes, the three got back onto their feet panting heavily, "D-do you we think we did it?" Lash asked, "I hope so dude!" Nevau replied, "Well anyway now that we got the time. Hey Nevau!" Zade said, "What?" Nevau asked only to be punched in the face and was kicked on the ground, Zade was then joined by Lash, "Hit while he's down! Hit him while he's down!" Lash said, "Why are you doing this!?" Nevau asked, "Slight pay back for earlier!" Zade said, "And the fact that you also help Mortem get this far!" Lash stated, "Ow! I'm! Ow! Sorry!" Nevau apologized.

Lash's nose twitched and the three quickly notice when the smoke faded to see the Golems were still intact with some heavy damage such as their limbs destroyed and half of their faces cracked, "Okay... combination attack slightly worked!" Nevau said, "You idiots!" Mystic voice said the three turned to see Mystic run in, as she ran she created two see though telekinetic bombs and threw them into the Golems' chest and the telekinetic bombs exploded destroying both the Golems and their cores, "And that's how it's done!" Mystic said with a smile on her face and hands on her hips, "Nice going Mystic" Lash said to Mystic, "Thank you! Now how about a reward?" Mystic said moving her face closer to Lash's, "H-huh?" Lash asked only for Mystic to kiss him on the lips, "So Mystic how did you and the others do in your fights?" Zade asked. 

Mystic explained to the Zade what happened during their fight and then she asked when she saw Nevau on the ground, "Oh we're paying Nevau back for helping Mortem and for those surges of power I'll explain but before that care to join in?" Zade asked, "Don't mind if I do!" Mystic smiled as the three beat up Nevau, Zade explained what happen, "You with pink hair that's kind of hilarious!" Mystic chuckled, "You're one to talk! Considering you have pink hair!" Nevau said, Mystic kicked him hard in the crotch for his remark, however the four were interrupted when Mortem emerged from the abyss. 

"He's still alive!?" Nevau said weakly, "DAMN IT!!! AFTER ALL THIS AND THEY WERE DESTROYED EASILY BY THE LIKES OF YOU!!! NO I WILL NOT LET IT END HERE!!!! IF I CAN'T DESTROY THE WORLD WITH THE GOLEMS THAT WERE CREATED BY THE EVIL DRAGON AZI DAHAKA DURING THE DRAGON WAR THEN I WILL BECOME A GOLEM MYSELF!!!!!" Mortem yelled in anger he then summoned the remaining shards of the alpha and omega cores and forced them into his body, Mortem then began to laugh hysterically as the remains of the Golems turned into dark red and light blue energy and flowed into Mortem's body changing him, "I think we should get out of here!" Lash said, Zade threw Nevau over his shoulders and the three ran out of the room.

Outside the temple; "A-an Earthquake!?" Torba asked, "No this feels different!" Borcus replied, "Look!" Zyker pointed towards the entrance as Mystic, Lash and Zade(with Nevau on his shoulders) ran out of the temple just as it was destroyed by a giagantic head with bull horns pointing upwards, and blackish red skin with piercing yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth, the two climbed up the cliff while the others watched the giant creature crawl its way out of the hole where the temple use to be, the giant had a muscular slender body with massive forearms and hands with razor sharp claws and four muscular legs supporting the body, and the symbol of beta on its chest.

"What is that thing?" Ruby asked, "That's Mortem he fused with the Golems after Mystic destroyed them!" Zade explained, "He could fuse with them is that even possible?" Lyra asked, "Well if it isn't! He just did it" Zade said putting Nevau down, "NEVAU!!!" the rest of the group yelled, "Don't worry he help Lash and Zade beat Mortem" Mystic told them, "But now what do we do about that Golem Mortem?" Vencen asked, "We can't possibly fight that thing!" Zeke said, "Not with normal men but we might have something that can!" Lash said, "And what's that?" Cyber asked, "Well it's a long shot but..." Lash mumbled, "Lash. What are you on about?" Mystic asked, "I going to transform into the my ultimate beast from: The Leviagon!" Lash said, he then took a deep breathe and exhaled before leaping off of the cliff and transforming into his Leviagon form. 

Everyone backed away aside from Patrick and looked worried as the Leviagon stood there still, Lash then let out a loud earsplitting roar before cracking his knuckles with a battle ready grin on his face, Patrick noticed that the Leviagon form looked a bit skinnier than when Lash first transformed into the form.

"That's Lash's ultimate beast form" Mystic said in awe, "Yup" Patrick replied, "Jeez! He's huge!" Torba said, Lash clicked his neck as he got into a battle stance, while Mortem snarled as he kicked the ground underneath his feet, "Don't worry he has control of the form" Patrick told everyone, Lash turned his head to face Mystic, "Go kick his ass!" Mystic smiled and Lash responded with a grin as he let out a loud roar before charging towards tackling Mortem to the ground and repeatedly punching him in the face breaking off the left horn, Mortem hit Lash in the stomach and grabbed him by the throat but Lash quickly punched Golem Mortem in the stomach and fired a electric blue orb from his mouth but Mortem dodged it.

Lash and Mortem threw fists at each other and their fist collided sending a shockwave which knocked over the surrounding trees and forcing animals to flee, Lash then spun around hit Mortem in the head with his tail and breaking off Mortem's right horn, Mortem snorted in anger and punched Lash in the ribs in the same spot that Mortem had hit in his human forms, and twisted his fist, Lash growled in pain stumbled back clutching his right side and dropped to his knees and panting in exhaustion while Mortem laughed in cruel glee.

"This is bad. It doesn't look like he can hold out much longer!" Ruby said worried "If we don't do something, he'll die!" Eleana said, "Not if we all distract Mortem and allow Lash to use Hellbreaker to finish Mortem off!" Mystic suddenly replied, everyone looked at her and Zade crossed his arms, "Well that might just work but me and Nevau barely have any energy left after the battle with Mortem in his human form and trying to destroy the Demon and Angel Golems!" Zade said, "Well then drink this!" Vencen said giving Zade and Nevau two vials filled with a blue liquid, "What is this?" Nevau asked, "It's called energy filler! Drink it and it will replenish you energy but they are VERY expensive!" Vencen explained, Zade and Nevau nodded and drunk the vials.

The two felt their energy returned, "Hey Lash!!!" Zade called to Lash, Lash turned his while fending off Mortem, "Get ready to finish Mortem off with Hellbreaker!!!" Zade explained, Lash grinned in agreement and pushed Mortem backwards and lept back and began to charge the Hellbreaker, Mortem notice what Lash was doing and began charging towards him.

Zade transformed into his spirit form and everyone began unleashing their most powerful attacks onto Mortem, Mortem blocked the attacks with annoyed look on his face and began to charged up a bright yellow beam to rid himself of the annoyances that were attacking him, but the ground underneath him began to crack and he fired the beam off in the distance, he turned his head in time to see Lash suddenly appearing in front of him and before he could he even block, Lash punched a hole in his chest and rip out a large round metallic orb with the symbol of beta on it and with the remaining energy from the Hellbreaker crushed the core.

Mortem skin turned dark grey and cracks began to form on his body as he began to violently convulse as the crack began to glow brighter and bright, Lash knew what was going to happen and shielded the other from the explosion, clenching his teeth in pain as he took the full force from the explosion and he return back to normal, Mystic quickly caught him and Eleana began to heal his back, while the others looked over where Mortem once was and saw the debris scattered everywhere, "VICTORY!!!" everyone cheered, the battle was now over, and the Golems were now destroyed once and for all along with Mortem.


	36. Becoming Knights

After the battle with Mortem, King Gavin the king of Shinzo Kingdom threw a party to celebrate everyone's victory over Mortem, everyone dressed formally, Mystic who was wearing a white Victorian dress walked into the ball room and up to Zade who was wearing a pink tuxedo, "Hey Zade, have you seen Lash anywhere?" she asked, "I think he's still in his room! Why are you looking for him?" Zade replied, "My brother needs to have a word you, Lash and Nevau!" Mystic said, "What about?" Zade asked, "I don't know what its about, but you can get Nevau and I'll go get Lash" Mystic said, Zade nodded and went to get Nevau. 

Mystic went to Lash's room and knocked on the door, "Come in!" Lash called, Mystic opened up the door to see Lash sitting on the balcony and leaning against the wall, Lash wore a white button up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up underneath a black leather waistcoat and black tie, black dress pants and black lace-up dress shoes, Lash had a few band-aids on his face and bandages around his ribs.

"What's up?" Lash asked, "My brother would like to have a word with you, Zade and Nevau" Mystic said, "What about?" Lash asked, "I don't know" Mystic replied, Lash slowly hopped off the balcony trying his best not to open his wounds and headed to the door, "Um... Lash" Mystic said, "Yeah" Lash replied, "How do I look in my dress?" Mystic asked showing off her dress, "You look great! But I'd say you look better in your regular clothes" Lash smiled causing Mystic to smile back, Lash and Mystic headed out the room and walked around a bit until they found Mayhem who was standing in front of Nevau and Zade. 

"Ah there you are!" Mayhem said when he notice Lash and Mystic, "So what did you want to talk to them about" Zero asked hoping onto Lash's right shoulder, "I want you three to become knights at Zelpius Kingdom. Mine and Mystic's home!" Mayhem told the three, "Really!?" Nevau asked, "Yes!" Mayhem replied, "You do realize that I used to be an enemy right?" Nevau asked, "Of course. That is why I'm offering you a chance to redeem yourself!" Mayhem replied, "What about me and Lash?" Zade asked, "You two along with Nevau here confronted Mortem, destroyed the golems with my sister and have killed Mortem!" Mayhem said, "So that's why" Lash said, "Indeed. So what do you say? Will you become Knights of Zelpius?" Mayhem asked, the three thought long and hard about their decision, the three looked at each other and nodded, "Alright!" three said, "Alright then we'll head out tomorrow" Mayhem said and they return to enjoying the party. 

The next morning; the group as well as Mayhem and Zeke stood outside Shinzo Kingdom gates, "So we're splitting up again. But this time no explosion that almost killed us" Lyra said, "So what are you guys gonna do now?" Zade asked, "Well I'm going to look for some ancient tomes that can give me some clue on a few things as well and practicing my magic! And Eleana and Patrick decided to come with me!" Vencen told Zade, "Really?" Lash asked Eleana, "Yeah! I thought it would be fun and don't worry I'll be safe. So good luck with your training!" Eleana said, "Thanks sis!" Lash said hugging his sister, "Patrick! Vencen! I'm trusting my sister's safety to you guys!" Lash said, "You can count on us!" Patrick smiled and giving Lash a fist bump.

"What about you Lyra, Zyker and Ruby?" Nevau asked, "Well we're going to team up and find rare artifacts that should give us insight to the past of this world and maybe try to find a way back to Earth!" Lyra said with a confident smile, "Well good luck you three!" Nevau smiled, while everyone were saying their goodbyes Eleana walked up to Mystic, "Hey Mystic" Eleana said, "What is Eleana?" Mystic asked, "Are you going with them?" Eleana asked, "Yeah!" Mystic replied, "Please look after my brother. A part of him feels different but I can trust you, Zade and Nevau to look after him!" Eleana said with a worried face, "You can count on me Eleana" Mystic said with smile, Eleana smiled and went back to Vencen and Patrick and once Lash, Nevau, Mystic, Zade, Zeke and Mayhem had finished packing their gear headed off towards Zelpius Kingdom while Vencen, Eleana and Patrick headed east and Lyra, Zyker and Ruby headed west. 

After two weeks past the seven had arrived at Zelpius, "So this is Zelpius huh!" Lash said looking at the kingdom, "Yes! There's one thing you should know before becoming Knights in training!" Mayhem said, "Why's that?" Nevau asked, "You'll need to prove yourself to see if your worth training to become knights!" Zeke explained, "Anyway we'll stop by our house first. There's someone who needs to have a word with Mystic!" Mayhem said, the seven headed inside the castle gates and walked up to a two story house brick house with a picket fence that protected a nice garden, "Lieutenant take Lash, Nevau, Zade and Zero to meet the Commandant to begin their tests!" Mayhem said, he then opened the gate, "Have fun!" Mystic said with a smile before her face became annoyed as she followed Mayhem into the house after she closed the gate, "Follow me!" Zeke said leading the four towards the barracks. 

When they arrived they walked into the building and up to a office door with a silver name plate on the top of the door that said Commandant's office, Zeke knocked on the door three times, "Come in!" a voice said, Zeke opened up the office door and the five walked into the Commandant's office and saw a a man with a stern face, shoulder length grey spiky hair and dark yellow eyes and wearing silver and orange armor with the emblem of a lion on his chest plate, the man looked up and saw the five.

"Ah! Lieutenant Zeke of the Wolf brigade how was your mission at Shinzo Kingdom?" the Commandant asked, "The mission was a success Commandant Jared, the threat had been eliminated " Zeke informed Commandant Jared, "Good and who are they?" Commandant Jared asked pointing to Lash, Zade and Nevau, "These four wish to become knights of Zelpius Kingdom Commandant on request of Captain Mayhem of the Wolf brigade!" Zeke informed the Commandant, "Four, lieutenant?" Commandant Jared asked, "The cat on the blonde guy's shoulders" Zeke said, "I see... You four! What are your names?" Commandant Jared asked the four, "I'm Zade John Mclean!" Zade introduced himself, "I'm Nevau Mines!" Nevau introduced himself, "I'm Lash Conrad Siegfried!" Lash introduced himself, "And I'm Zero the talking cat or if you want too call me Zero the great!" Zero introduced himself with boasting confidence, "Nice to meet you lot! My name is Jared Conners. But if you are to join then you must refer to me by my rank of Commandant!" Commandant Jared introduced himself to the four, "Yes Commandant!" the four said, "Good! Now why do you four wish to become knight? What are your reasons for joining?" Commandant Jared asked.

The four stood still thinking of their reasons in joining, "Please take your time! No need to rush" Commandant Jared said, Lash closed his eye while thinking of his reason and images of his friends; Zade, Nevau, Vencen, Patrick, Ruby, Zero, Eleana, Lyra and Zyker flashed by as well as an image of Mystic smiling at him, "I want to protect the people closest to me!" Lash spoke up, "I wish to protect the people who cannot fend for themselves as well as helping my friends!" Zade said, "I want to help people and protect my friends and family!" Nevau said, "What they said!" Zero said, "Very well. Those are good reasons and you all share a very similar thing in which to protect your friends and those you consider family!" Commandant Jared smiled, "Thank you sir!" Zade thanked, "Now I assume you know about the test to prove yourself?" Commandant Jared asked, the four nodded, "Good! Before I tell you what that test is! I must say though I'm very impressed that Captain Mayhem requested you four to become knights which is not a very easy thing to do. You four must of done something very impressive to gain his respect!" Commandant Jared said, "Yeah! It wasn't easy but we did help him out on his mission!" Nevau said, "So Commandant, what is this test?" Zade asked.

Commandant Jared took a deep breathe and exhaled and sat down at his desk and faced the four, "Well since you four must have a good battle experience then I can assume you'll complete this test, what I want you four to do is deal with a local group of bandits who call themselves the Black Leopard Gang, they have been causing trouble for travelers, traveling merchants and couriers! I want you three to go to their camp and deal with them and bring me their leader's weapon which should have a carving of their symbol on its hilt guard!" Commandant Jared explain handing Zade the location of the camp "I wish you luck!" Commandant Jared smiled, "Thank you sir!" the four saluted and left the office, "Lieutenant Zeke!" Commandant Jared spoke to Zeke, "Yes sir?" Zeke replied, "I want you and your captain to train them when they complete their test!" Commandant Jared said to Zeke, "Yes sir! I'll give this information to Captain Mayhem immediately!" Zeke bowed and left the room. 

Lash, Zero, Zade and Nevau headed towards the Kingdom gates, "Where are you four going?" Mystic asked when she saw the four coming, "We've just receive our test so we going to deal with a bandit gang and bring back the leader's weapon" Lash told Mystic, "well good luck and have fun you four!" Mystic said and waved goodbye. 

The four soon arrived at the bandit camp and remained outside of their line of sight, "So what's the plan?" Nevau asked, "I say we storm the place!" Lash said, "Any other plans?" Nevau asked, "Nevau they're bandits they're probably nothing like Cyber's gang or Mystic's former bandit gang!" Lash said with a stoic expression, "We'll go with Lash plan and get this over and done with!" Zade said, "Fine but if I die I'm going to be pissed!" Nevau grumbled, the four got up and charged towards the bandit camp, Zero changed into his tiger form(which he used in his battle against Violet), one of the bandits who was on lookout saw them coming and before he could alert the others Zade fired his nail gun which wiped out the bandit's chest, shoulders, upper arm and head and the remaming pieces fell to the ground, another bandit who saw what happend to her comrade ran out to face the four, Lash quickly ran up to her and decapitated with a single slice with his right hand. 

The four ran into the center of the camp where the bandit chief sat on his throne, "Who are you lot?" the bandit chief asked, "We're here to kill you and your gang under orders from the Commandant of Zelpius Kingdom" Zade said while pointing at the bandit chief, the bandit chief let out a hefty laugh at Zade's claim, "Do you four weaklings honestly think you can beat... no Kill me? Jarco the Great!?" Jarco asked, "Yeah! We do think we can kill you!" Nevau replied with a confidant smile, "Well then let's see if your bite is big as your bark! Kill them my underlings!!!" Jarco ordered all of his minions to attack the four, the bandits surrounded the four and Nevau cracked his knuckles, Zade cracked his neck, Lash stretched his legs and Zero let out a threatening growl. 

The four charged at the bandits in separate directions and took on the bandits, Lash kicked and punched (with his gauntlets on) his opponents and set them on fire and occasional fire his Phoenix Blast, Zade brought out his scythe and decapitated them, summoned spectral arms from the ground to crush his opponents bones, and blasted them with his nail gun, Nevau crushed his opponents with boulders and Terra snakes, and Zero lepted onto his opponents and tore out their throats and curling up into a ball with his fur becoming razor sharp.

Lash punched his right fist into one of the bandits stomach and blasted a hole through him using Phoenix Blast, another ran at Lash screaming "You BASTARD!!!" only for Lash to spin around and with all his might break that bandit's neck with one kick, "Lash! Are you ready?" Nevau asked, Lash nodded and the ground beneath Lash's feet began to crumble and Lash rode the massive Terra snake, "TERRA SNAKE + BLACK FIRE DRAGON'S BREATH!!!" the two yelled, Lash then spew the wave of black fire from his mouth, the black fire stuck a ten bandits, Lash quickly hopped and let the Terra snake crushed five of the ten bandits who were hit by the combination attack while the other five burnted to death, Zade poured his energy into his scythe and the blade glowed a dark orange and he then slashed fifteen bandits slicing their elbows and torsos clean off and threw it cutting through sixteen more bandits before returning to his hands, Zero summoned a dagger in his mouth and sliced the bandits throats with it along with his claws and before long all of Jarco's minions laid dead, a sweat droplet ran down his forehead, as the four turned to him, he quickly shook his head and stood up tall looking down on the four. 

"I must admit you four don't die easily. But now I Jarco the Great will be your undoing!" Jarco said pulling out his battle axe and the four could see the carving of the Black Leopards Gang's symbol on the hilt guard, "Zero, leave the rest to us!" Zade said to Zero, Zero unsummoned his dagger and reverted back to his normal form, "Very well! Have fun you guys!" Zero said walking to a safe distance, Zade unsummoned his scythe, "What's this! Why are getting rid of your weapons?" Jarco asked, "Because we don't need our weapons to defeat you Jarco!" Zade said with a confident smile, "Bold words boy! Now prepare to DIE!!!" Jarco yelled bringing his axe crashing down however the three lept out of the way, Lash ran up to Jarco and used his HellBreaker to uppercut Jarco into the air and causing him to drop his axe, Nevau appeared behind Jarco and kicked him the back and towards Zade, Zade fired a full powered nail gun and obliterated Jarco into dust, "I guess you could say that he was all bark and no bite!" Lash joked with a cheeky smile, "Come on! Let's take this axe back to the Commandant!" Nevau sighed as he picked up the axe, "All right let's head back!" Zade said, and the four headed back to Zelpius. 

They soon arrive at the Commandant's office and waiting for them was the Commandant, Mayhem and Zeke, "We've completed our test" Nevau said hand the Commandant the axe, "Very good you four have done well, and as Commandant of the Zelpius Kingdom Knights I hereby announce you as Knights in training and Captain Mayhem and Lieutenant Zeke will train you! I wish you the best of luck boys!" Commandant Jared announce and shook the fours hands and paw, "Come this way we've prepared your rooms!" Mayhem said and lead the four to their rooms. 

Once they arrived at the four's rooms, "This is where you'll be sleeping, we've provided your beds and unpacked your things, as well as prepared training uniforms, so try and get some rest because training begins first thing the morning!" Mayhem said and walked off, "Well anyway congratulations you three!" Zeke congratulated and walked off, "So now what?" Nevau asked, "Well I'm going to see Mystic and give her the news!" Lash said, "I'm going to check out the town" Zade said, "Well I'm going to bed after a snack!" Nevau said walking into the room with a yawn whiled been followed by Zero. 

Lash walked out of the barracks and found Mystic sitting on the fountain bench gazing up at the sky, she saw Lash coming and got up and walked up to him, "So how did you do?" Mystic asked, "Well I wouldn't be standing in front of you if I didn't succeeded" Lash smirked, "So that means..." Mystic said, "Yup you're now looking at Knight in training; Lash Siegfried!" Lash said with a confident smile, Mystic couldn't help but chuckled and Lash scratched the back of his head embarrassed, "That's good you'll definitely make a good knight!" Mystic said placing her hand on Lash cheek causing him to slightly blush, "Well I better get home before my mother gets worried!" Mystic sighed, "By the way what is you Mum like?" Lash asked, "Its best if you don't know. Well goodnight Lash, I'll come by the training grounds and watch you train!' Mystic waved goodbye, Lash smiled and waved goodbye before headed back to the barracks.


	37. The training begins

"Oi Lash wake up!" Zero said trying to wake Lash up, "Here let me try!" Nevau said and began to shake him awake, "I'm awake! I'm awake!" Lash said as Nevau shook him, "Good get dressed because we've got of first day of training!" Zade said as he walked into the room, Lash climbed out of bed and got dressed into his training uniform which consists of a grey long sleeved shirt, white training gloves which Lash tucked the end of his sleeves into, Black dress pants, and black training boots, Zade and Nevau wore the same uniform but unlike Lash, Zade wore his formally, with the shirt tucked into the pants and leggings tucked into the boots and Nevau wore his uniform semi formally, and Zero had an armband on his right arm.

After Lash had something quick to eat the four headed to the training ground where Zeke waited for for them, "You four are thirty seconds late!" Zeke said with a stern look on his face, "Sorry!" the four apologized, "Anyway let's begin! Zero I assume you can wield a dagger in you mouth?' Zeke sighed, "Yes sir!" Zero confirmed, "Good! See that dummy over there I want you to use that wooden dagger next to it and practice your attacks!" Zeke said, "Yes sir!" Zeke said and ran over to the dummy and picked up the wooden dagger, "You three will be training with me! Over there you will see some wooden weapons! Go and grab the ones you feel will be useful to you!" Zeke said pointing to a weapon rack that was filled with wooden weapons and the three went to the rack. 

Zade picked up a wooden staff, Lash picked the wooden whale sword and Nevau picked the wooden broadsword and went back to Zeke, "Alright so you all picked your weapons and come at me with everything you got!" Zeke said wielding a wooden long sword in his right and a wooden shield on his left forearm, Lash rushed towards Zeke and swung his weapon Zeke blocked using his shield and pushed Lash back with a kick to the gut, Nevau ran up and swung his sword only for Zeke to parry it with his sword and using his left hand push Nevau away, Zade ran up and swung his staff, Zeke lept into the air and back flip kick Zade.

The three got back up and tried a different strategy, Lash ran behind and tried to attack from behind however Zeke block it with his sword and spin kicked Lash in the ribs and knocked him onto the ground, Nevau attempted to strike Zeke's side but was blocked by his shield and Zeke counter attacked by punching him the gut, Nevau coughed out saliva and dropped to his knees, Zade managed to land a hit Zeke but Zeke quickly recovered and tripped Zade by kicking his legs, the three got back and tried team work and managed to land a few blows on Zeke and after a while. 

"Alright that concludes this mornings training! Now if I can make a few suggestions. Zade and Nevau I've notice some tension between you two during your team work attack I don't know what the tension is about but you need to get it sorted or else you two are going to get your asses handed to you by people who can work together effectively! Lash your attacks are far too aggressive! An opponent could easily block and counter attack you! You need calm down and think before you attack alright! Now have an hour break and we'll be training again!" Zeke said and walked off.

Mystic and Zero approached the three as they were dusting themselves off and putting the wooden weapons back, "Well how was training?" Mystic asked even though she was watching, "Well it wouldn't be training if it was easy" Zade replied, Zero hopped onto Lash's right shoulder, "So did you learn any new techniques?" Lash asked Zero, "No. Not yet but I have an idea for one!" Zero answered, "Anyway let's go get lunch!" Mystic said and the four headed into town. 

"So where are we heading?" Lash asked, "I know a good cafe around here!" Mystic replied, on their way to the cafe they were stopped by a woman calling Mystic's name, "Oh no..." Mystic mumbled under her breath, the turned around to see a woman who looked like she was in her mid-thirties, she had neck length dark purple hair, leaf green eyes she had Mystic's face but only more mature and more sterner and wore a black ankle length dress, the woman approached the four.

"Mother what are you doing here?" Mystic asked her Mother, "I was doing a little shopping and notice you with these men. So who are they?" Mystic's mother asked, "Mother this is Zade, Nevau and Lash and the cat on Lash's shoulder is Zero and they're knights in training!" Mystic introduced the four to her mother, "Ah! So you must be the boy Mystic was traveling with and has become a knight in training. You must very intelligent and strong if you are becoming a knight it's nice to see my daughter finally taken a interest in men!" Mystic's mother kindly said to Zade, "Mother! That's Zade!" Mystic said, Mystic mother turned to Nevau with a slight distasteful look in her eyes, "Well he seems to be all right... But cut that ridiculous hair style then he might make a good husband!" Mystic mother said observing Nevau out loud, "Nevau is a straight hell no for me! And before you ask not the cat either!" Mystic said, Nevau hunched over sad as Lash pat his back.

Mystic's Mother turned to Lash, "Oh my! You must be Lash! I'm sorry dear" Mystic's mother said with a apologetic tone which caused Mystic to sigh in annoyance, "Well if you excuse me! I better get back to what I was doing" Mystic's mother said with a smile and as she approached, "Be sure to be gentle with the boy!" Mystic's mother whispered into Mystic's ear, "What does that mean!?" Mystic retorted embarrassed.

Mystic's mother only replied with a cheeky smile as she walked away, Mystic placed a hand on her forehead and sighed, "Well she was nicer than I expected" Lash said crossing his arms, "Yes! But she can be embarrassing at times" Mystic sighed, "Well that is only natural! But here I though the way you looked on the way here. I was expecting her to be a bit... bitchy!" Nevau said, "Well anyway. Mayhem asked me if I would like to become a knight!" Mystic said changing the subject, "And you said yes?" Zade asked, "Yup. But he won't give me any favors aside from skipping the test and putting me with you guys which I don't mind and apart from that I have to train and work myself up to become a knight which I don't mind either!" Mystic said, "So why aren't you in uniform?" Zade asked, "Mayhem said he would have my uniform ready in an hour. But anyway, we're wasting you guys' break!" Mystic said and the four headed off to the cafe.

Once they arrive they ordered themselves some lunch and drinks, Zade brought himself a egg roll sandwich, and for his drink he brought a bottle of chocolate milk, Nevau brought himself a sausage roll and a bottle V, Lash brought himself a steak and cheese pie with a glass bottle of coke, Zero ate some cat food, Mystic brought herself a jumbo steak burger and a glass bottle of lemonade, after they had their lunch and placed their rubbish in the bin and left the cafe, "Well I guess we should head back to the training grounds!" Zade said, "Alright I'll get change and I'll meet you lot there" Mystic said running off to get change. 

Lash, Nevau, Zero and Zade arrived at the training grounds just as Zeke and Mayhem arrived, "So I assume you know that-" Mayhem said before being cut off by Zade, "Mystic became a knight in training, yeah" Zade said, "Well that takes the surprise out if it" Zeke said scratching his head, soon enough Mystic arrive wearing the knights in training uniform with the shirt tucked into the dress pants, sleeves tucked into the gloves and the pant leggings ducked into the boots.

"Very well now let's continue with me training you four, Zero continue to do what you were doing this morning!" Mayhem said, Zero nodded and went back to the training dummy, and Lash, Mystic, Nevau and Zade grabbing their wooden weapons and began their training with Mayhem.


	38. Training continues...?

"Gah!" Lash yelled as he was knocked to the ground by Zeke during their morning training, three months had passed since Lash, Mystic, Nevau, Zade and Zero begun their training as knights, Lash was being trained by Zeke, Zade was being trained by Mayhem, Nevau was being trained by a captain of another brigade; Captain Torin of the bear brigade and Mystic was being trained by Torin's lieutenant; Alice and Zero was training with a dummy.

Torin was a large dark skin muscular man, with a clean shaven head, teal eyes and a neatly brushed black beard, he wore the captain rank armor but its color were pale red and sky blue with a symbol of a grizzly bear on it.

Alice had wavy long black hair tied up in a high ponytail, greyish green eyes and slightly tanned skin and average figure with some muscles on her body, she wore the lieutenant's armor with dark blue and light black with a symbol of a bat on her armor.

"Not bad you've improved since we first begun your training, but you might want to consider a weapon change" Zeke said, "Like what?" Lash asked as he lifted himself up, "While you can wield your sword with great aim your speed is lacking and that can make you valuable for an attack. Perhaps using a broadsword or perhaps using you speed to an advantage and go with dual knives" Zeke suggested, "Well I can turn Fenrir into metal gauntlets. But I'll think about it" Lash replied, "Alright let's continue shall we" Zeke said readying his weapon, "Yeah!" Lash grinned his usual smirk and rushed at Zeke, the training continued until it was lunch time. 

"Thank you for the help Captain Torin!" Mayhem thanked Torin, "No Problem Mayhem. I'm always happy to help out" Torin grinned as he and his lieutenant walked off, "Alright go get some lunch and after that come back here to get your assignments!" Mayhem said and walked off with Zeke back to their office to finish some paperwork, "I hope I don't get put on babysitting duty!" Lash moaned as he placed his hands on his lower spine and curved his body back cracking each joint free of pain that he had received during training, "I better not get back pains when I'm older!" Lash mumbled under his breath, "I guess you don't like children do you Lash?" Mystic said, "I don't hate children I just sometimes find them annoying and obnoxious!" Lash replied as the four walked to the cafe, "So what task do you usually get you three?" Lash asked, "Scouting the outside areas, its not so bad... once you get use to the bears that somehow know some form of martial arts!" Nevau said, "Town patrol!" Zade replied, "I tend to get guard duty at some important place!" Mystic said. 

The four arrived at their destination and ordered their usual order, "Man I'm still tired" Lash yawned, "It has been months since we've been here on Arcadia and you're still not a morning person are you Lash?" Nevau joked, "Well I have seen you train late at night so I guess that's one of the reasons, but when you were back on earth how did you usually stay up late at night?" Mystic asked, "I played video games on my Xbox or watched videos on site called youtube on my computer or write some stories" Lash replied taking sip out of his drink.

"Hey Mystic I've been meaning to ask but do you have any form of technology aside from the ones in this building?" Zade asked, "Actually yes, we've got guns that shoot electricity that paralyze their targets is just one of them!" Mystic replied, "And when I was with Mortem we traveled in mechanical spider base" Nevau said, "But the country where there the most technology is Metracita apparently there is a cyborg in that country oh and aside from boats we have a trains that run of fire energy!" Mystic said, "What's Metracita like?" Lash asked Mystic, "Well I've never been there but there's a city where it manufacturers all of the technology that some knights of some cities use and probably the same city that created Mortem's spider vehicle, but there's also the mage's college on Metracita and a few other landscapes as well!" Mystic explained, "Well we better head back" Zade said, the four got up and headed back to the training ground Lash took another from his drink and began to wonder something 'I wonder where Mortem learned about the Golems existence?' Lash thought but shrugged it off.

Elsewhere; outside the castle gates a man watched the town with a smile on his face, "Boss the energy weapons from our raid are ready!" a woman said approaching the man, "Good to hear we'll start our attack at sun down!" the man said, "Boss are you sure about this? I mean they are there as well as you bro-" The woman said right before she was cut off, "Yes I'm about this, I know that they are there which is why I'm looking forward this, I just can't wait to have a rematch with him, we may have been allies during that fight three months ago but this time I'm going to see if he's gotten any stronger, but we will stick to the plan of kidnapping the young princess so don't worry!" the man said walking back to the camp, "Alright boss!" the woman said and followed the man back to camp.

Back to the four, the four had arrived at the training grounds where Mayhem approached them, "You four the Commandant would like to see you at his office!" Mayhem told them before heading back to the Commandant's office, "Oh boy... What did we do this time" Zade asked Lash and Nevau, Lash and Nevau just shrugged and the four headed to the Commandant's office.

When they arrived Zade knocked on the door, "Come in!" Commandant Jared called out to the four, you wanted to see us sir?" Zade asked, "Yes this after noon we had received word of one of our caravans being attacked by bandits!" Commandant Jared explained, "What was in it?" Zero asked, "Shipments from Metracita, it was filled with energy weapons to replaced our ones that were damaged two months ago during a assignment I gave to the bear brigade, we were expecting them to arrive sometime today until those bandits raided it but left the everyone alive but unconscious!" Commandant Jared explained.

"Do you have any idea who attacked them?" Mystic asked, "No! But we'll be on high alert so return to your barracks or continue to train on your own until we catch them! Dismiss!" Commandant Jared ordered, "Sir!" The five replied and headed back to their barracks, "Man I wish that we could get in on the action!" Nevau grumbled, "Well we are knights in training so it is understandable that they wouldn't want us involved in their business!" Mystic said.

The four walked in Lash, Nevau and Zade's barracks and sat down at a table, Zero lept off of Lash's shoulder and laid down his cat bed, "But still what kind of bandits would want to steal energy weapons? Any ideas?" Zade asked, "Well we might have an idea on who did it!" a familiar voice said, the four turned around to see Shade and Slake standing at the door, "Hey it's Shade and Jake!" Lash said with a smartass smile when he saw the two, "It's Slake for Pete's sake Lash are you doing that on purpose or are you just bad with names sometimes!" Slake yelled at Lash, "With Lash it's best to assume he's doing both but mainly on purpose because you might of pissed him off at one point!" Zade told Slake, "What did I do him- oh right!" Slake said remembering the time at the cave as well as giving him the scar on his left eye.

"So what are you two doing here?" Mystic asked, "Well we were in town looking for a job and your boss came up to us and hired us to help out with their bandit problem!" Shade explained, "We also heard that you four were here and we thought we drop by and say hi!" Slake said, "So any way who do you think might of attacked the caravan?" Mystic asked, "Well we had heard rumors that the Lightning Fox Gang were sighted in the area!" Shade said, "Cyber's gang!" Mystic said, "Yeah it would make sense even if he did help us fight Mortem, but he's still a bandit and plus he disappeared right before we headed here!" Zade said, "Well they are just rumors" Shade said, "Well any way we better meet up with you boss, See ya!" Shade said as he and Slake walked out the door and closed it behind them.   
"Well I'm gonna take a nap wake me up when this smeg is over!" Lash said as lay down on his bed and went to sleep, Nevau sighed and after an hour had passed he stood up, "That's it I'm sitting around any longer! We are going to help out in our way dammit!" Nevau said with determination in his voice "I was wondering when you were going to say that!" Zade smiled as he cleaned his glasses, "I don't always agree with what you say or do but I agree we are not going to sit around and do nothing!" Zade said as he placed his glasses on, "So you guys finally made up your mind huh!" Lash said sitting up on his bed, "Me and Zero were going to take matters into our own hands if you guys weren't going to do anything!" Lash said with his usual smirk, "That's right!" Zero said leaping onto Lash's bed, "Its this determination that usually gets you three into trouble but you are right so let's do this!" Mystic smiled, just then the sound of something exploding rang through the barracks.

The five rushed out of their barracks to see a crater in the training and two knights laying near it the five ran up to one of the guards, "What going on!?" Nevau asked the knight, "The castle... bandits are heading towards the castle!" The knight faintly said before passing out, Zade and Nevau picked up the two knights and placed onto their beds in their room, and rushed back out towards Lash, Mystic and Zero, "Was there suppose to be a thunder storm today?" Lash asked as he stared up at the sky, "No why?" Zade replied, the others then looked up to see thunder clouds in the sky with flashes of lighting and soon after it began to rain, "That knight said that bandits were heading to the castle so let's go!" Nevau said, "Right!" the others replied and headed to the castle. 

However they stopped when saw thunder clouds circling around the castle and lightning bolts shooting out, "What's going on!?" Nevau asked, "Hey you guys wait for us!" Shade's voice called out to them, the five turned around to see Shade and Slake running up to them, "Do you guys have any idea on what's going on?" Shade asked, "No idea sorry" Zade replied, "But we are heading to the castle something seems to be happening there!" Mystic said, Shade and Slake nodded and they continued to make their way to the castle however a bright yellow lightning struck the ground, the seven covered their faces from the debris with their arms and out of the smoke a masked woman emerged and attacked Mystic.

The six were about to help but she told them continued and that she'll be alright, "Zero go help Mystic!" Lash told Zero, "Right!" Zero agreed and hop off his shoulder and went to help Mystic, as they made their way to the castle more lightning bolts struck the ground and more masked people showed up and the group got separated until Lash was left. 

Lash entered the castle only to see Commandant Jared, Captain Mayhem and a group of six knights along with captain Torin laid unconscious on the floor, Lash ran up to Mayhem, "Captain what happened here and where's Zeke?" Lash asked Mayhem, Mayhem opened his eye, "The bandits leader plans to kidnap princess Luna, and as for Zeke, he and Alice are keeping citizen indoors when this began!" Mayhem explained, "I'll go on ahead and rescue Luna!" Lash said, "Alright but be careful!" Mayhem said before passing out.

Lash gently placed him on the ground and ran towards princess Luna's room, but stopped when he heard a familiar voice called out to him, "Yo how's it been Lash?" the voice said with cheery tone, "Cyber!" Lash said recognizing the voice and Cyber stepped out of the shadow with a grin on his face, "Bingo!" he said.


	39. Knights vs. Bandits

"Yo! How has it been Lash?" Cyber asked with a cheery tone as he stepped out of the shadows with princess Luna i tucked into his left arm, "So this is why you're here Cyber!" Lash said, "If you mean that I'm kidnapping the young princess here and holding her ransom then yes!" Cyber replied, "Why?" Lash asked, "I've decided to try something new, plus its not the only reason I'm here!" Cyber said, "And what's that?" Lash asked, "I would like a rematch, I've seen how much stronger you've gotten. It just wouldn't sit with me if I left without giving you a good beating!" Cyber grinned, and readied his right arm as electricity sparked from it.

Lash was about to draw Fenrir but Zeke pushed him out of the way and punched Cyber in the stomach, Lash caught Luna when Cyber dropped and staggered back as he tried to regain his breath, "Man! You have the worst timing big bro!" Cyber grunted at Zeke, "Wait what?" Lash said in confusion, "Oh we never told you did we, Well me and Zeke are related, shocker isn't it!" Cyber said with a smile, "Zeke it that true?" Lash asked, "Yes it's true! But Lash right now you need to get princess Luna to safety, that is your task as of now! I'll deal with Cyber!" Zeke ordered, "R-right!" Lash replied, "Do you really think your gonna escape that easily?" Cyber asked as he prepared to fire a lightning bolt at Lash but was interrupted by Zeke.

Princess Luna slowly opened her eyes to see Lash, "M-mister Lash?" she asked, "Yeah it's me kid and hang on tight I'm gonna get you to safety!" Lash told her, "and how are you gonna do that?" Cyber asked, "By doing this!" Lash said smashing a nearby window and jumping out of the building, "THAT CRAZY IDIOT!!!" Zeke and Cyber yelled with shocked expressions on their faces and ran to the window Lash jumped out of just in time to him sprout black flame dragon like wings and fly away from the castle, Cyber quickly regain his composure, "You're not getting away that easily!" Cyber growled and commanded a lightning bolt from one of the thunder clouds to strike Lash, but he narrowly avoided the attack, Cyber went to try again but Zeke quickly punched him in the face, "You fight is with me Cyber!" Zeke growled, "Tch! Alright fine let's do this Zeke!" Cyber said wiping his mouth, Zeke's body started glowing with a intense blood red aura while Cyber's glowed with fierce yellow aura, the two charged at each other and their surroundings was wiped out with a flash as their fists collided.

Lash landed in front of of the buildings where the barrack were located and ran into his room and placed Luna down, "Alright you'll be safe here, I'm going to help the others!" Lash told, "Alright! Be safe Mr. Lash!" Luna said, Lash nodded and notice to see the two knights who were hit by Cyber's lightning bolt starting to wake, "Oi you two!" Lash said to them, "What?" one of them asked, "Keep princess Luna safe!" Lash told them, the two nodded and Lash ran out of the room and into the rain, and summoned Fenrir and rested the blade over his shoulders, "Alright where did the others go?" Lash asked.

Lash ran out into the street just in time to Mystic get thrown in a wall by Cyber's second in command; Linda, Lash without saying anything ran up and tried to attack only for Linda to spin kick in the rip and sent him hurling into a nearby wall, Zero in his tiger form lunged at Linda with claws ready to tear into her flesh, but she caught him and threw him into Lash, "Humph is this the best you've two had improved since that fight with that sorcerer?" Linda asked, "Well it has only been three months since it happened" Mystic replied as she, Lash and Zero got back, "Zero go protect the princess!" Lash ordered the cat, "Where is she?" he asked, Lash looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile which and Zero instantly knew where the princess was, "Alright! Good luck you two!" Zero said and ran off towards the barracks, Lash readied his blade and Mystic readied her staff, Linda looked at both directions, and adjusted her gloves, Mystic and Lash after taking a deep breath and exhaling the two ran towards her.

Zade blocked an attack from Borcus' axe, while Shade and Slake had been knocked unconscious, Zade forced Borcus backwards so he could swing his scythe, Borcus lept into the air and landed on a nearby roof of a nearby building and sat down while pulling a glass bottle of alcohol, he pulled out the cork and began drinking, after he drunk the bottle was half empty he placed the cork back on and placed the bottle away before turning his attention onto Zade, "You know it's not every day you meet someone who can wield a scythe with much accuracy, I'm impressed!" Borcus grinned, "I want to know something!" Zade said as he cleaned the rain drops from his glasses, "And what's that?" Borcus asked, "Why are you lot doing here?" Zade asked, Borcus just looked at him as he pulled out the bottle from earlier and began drinking.

Nevau avoided attack after attack from Torba as he tried to counter attack her but she dodged it and punched him in the gut and kicked him the face, Nevau landed on his back but he quickly got back up and picked up his sword, "Your quiet persistent on getting back up!" Torba said, "Well I'm a knight in training and you are a bandit so figure that one out!" Nevau said and got back into his fighting pose, "Hmhp! True, but unlike you I'm stronger!" Torba said getting into her fighting pose, Nevau charged at her but Torba knocked the sword from out of his hand with her left hand and delivered a hard punch to his face with her right fist and serious kick to his gut with left foot which was soon followed by right foot and was followed by her left foot again and then her right, she repeated this process until Nevau was logged into a wall which had graffiti on it, she then clenched her right hand tightly before throwing what looked light white sparkles, Nevau had a confused look on his face as the white sparkles headed towards, but his confusion soon turned to pain when the white sparkles touched his chest they exploded into a white dome light explosion, "Sparkling explosive light!" Torba said when the explosion happened.

Lash swung his sword but Linda quickly trip Lash over and kick him in the chin and grabbed his leg throwing him three meters away, Lash landed with a thud when he hit the ground, Mystic ran up and thrusted her staff striking Linda the stomach and throwing her into the air, Mystic then used her staff to boost herself into the air, once she reached Linda she brought her staff crashing down on to Linda's back sending her hurling to the ground, however when Linda neatly reached the ground she regain her balance and threw a bunched of razor sharp needles at Mystic, Mystic did her best to block the needles but they still cut through parts of her clothes has well and her flesh, she then felt invisible spring wrap around her, Linda who was holding the visible strings threw Mystic into the wall she was thrown into just before Lash joined the fight, the force of impact caused not only Mystic to cough out blood and black out as well due to the pain.

Lash gritted his teeth as he used his sword to help lift himself of the ground and then separate the sword into the broad and long swords; Skoll and Hati and ran at Linda swing the swords once he got close enough, Linda dodged he swing and quickly grabbed his right and left wrists and kneed him the chin and then kangaroo kicked him the chest sending him hurling backwards, but he quickly regained his balance and stabbed both swords into the ground to him down as he went back, he then combined the two swords back into Fenrir and ran at Linda once more, Linda sighed and spin kicked Lash in the ribs again once he got close enough, "Give it up you're not going to beat me with a sword like that!" Linda sighed, Lash realized that she was right and remembered the words Zeke said to him from earlier today, Fenrir in his whalesword form was not Lash ideal weapon of choice, due to its size and weight it made it made Lash an easier target due to slow moments as he swung the sword the same went for Skoll and Hati in their weapon forms, Lash knew that their was one form that the three of them could take, his weapons of choice.

Lash slowly got back up and stabbed the giant sword into the ground, Linda began to wonder what Lash was doing, soon enough Fenrir started to glow a faint light grew color as the sword slowly turned into a liquid substance and began to wrap itself around Lash's fists, two more faint glowing shot out from the grey liquid one was icy blue while the other was light brown, the icy blue light attached itself to Lash's right shin while the light brown light attached itself on his left shin, the two lights then form into metal shin guards and metal boots, while the grey liquid turned into the metal gauntlets Lash uses when engaging in a fist fight.

Linda had a slight confused look on her face for a couple of seconds before Lash shot straight towards and threw his right fist at her and she was unable to block the attack due to how fast he moved and Lash had delivered a hard blow to her left cheek before, 'W-what!?" Linda thought, using his left fist Lash punched Linda in the stomach and then delivered a high kick to her neck using his right leg, 'W-was he always this fast!?' Linda thought to herself once she regained balance as well as a a safe distance between her and Lash, rain continued to pour onto the ground as the two stared at each and Lash spoke breaking the silence, "I'm going to end this right now!" Lash said in a hushed tone, he then began to spin rapidly on spot, 'W-what is he doing!?' Linda asked in her mind.

Lash stopped spinning after two minutes had passed and Linda noticed that his right shin was glowing a bright red, when rain landed on his right shin it turned to steam,"H-his leg i-its bright red, did he make up a new attack on the spot?' She asked in her mind as she had a shocked look on her face, "Actually no I didn't make up a new attack on the spot if you're wondering" Lash said as if he had read her mind, "This attack was created by a fictional character form a series two of my friends had watched and read, this character had done the same thing I did just now where he had spun around rapidly until one of his legs turned bright red burning with an intense heat!" Lash explained, "The devil's kick; Diable Jambe!" Lash said pronouncing the name of the attack, "The devil's kick!?" Linda said confused.

"The amount of fire energy in my leg right now is enough to possibly not only burn your flesh but your bones as well. So if I was you I would do my best to avoid this attack. However... It's not like I will give you a chance to dodge!" Lash said with serious look on his face, he ran towards Linda and just like he said he didn't give a chance to dodge as he kicked her in the abdomen with his right leg, "GAAAAAAAAAH! IT BURNS!!!" Linda screamed in pain, "And now for an attack that I created myself! HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash yelled punching Linda in the face with his signature attack, Linda who had already passed out due to the pain inflicted by Diable Jambe was sent hurling fifteen meters away, and landed with a thud when she hit the ground, Lash let out a exhausted sigh and collapsed onto his left leg and gripping his right forearm in pain.

After a minute had passed he got back up ignoring the pain in both his right shin and right forearm and walked towards Mystic and lifted her unconscious body into his arm and headed back to his barrack, when he arrived to his room, he notice that princess Luna and the two knight were gone and only Zero remained in the room, "Where did they go?" Lash asked, "Those two took the princess to the commandant's office saying she would be safer there. I decided to stay here, Lash nodded and walked towards his bed and place Mystic on it and pulled up a blanket over her to keep her warm.

"Shouldn't you take her wet clothes off as well so she won't get sick?" Zero asked, Lash face began to blush heavily at the thought, he took a sharp gulp and he quickly removed Mystic's wet clothes leaving only her bra and underwear on and quickly placed her back on the bed and quickly pulling the blankets over her, "Zero I'm going back out so please look after Mystic!" Lash said to Zero, "Don't worry she'll be alright!" Zero assured Lash, Lash let out a relieve sight, "Thanks!" Lash thanked the cat with a smile, he then ran back outside into the rain and headed in the direction where he last saw Zade and Nevau, but on his way there a lightning bolt struck the ground in front of him, "Going somewhere?" Cyber voice asked, "Dammit!" Lash grunted.

Nevau collapse to the ground after the explosion had faded, parts of his clothes were torn or missing and bruises covered parts of his body, but he still got up, "Getting up after taking a hit like that! you've impressed me. Well kind of!" Torba said, "No more playing around!" Nevau said as he walked toward his sword and picked it up, "Do you think you can beat me with that weapon? News flash my powers is known as glittering light!" Torba said, "You want to know something!" Nevau said as he tightly gripped his swords hilt, "And what's that?" Torba asked, "This isn't my weapon's true form!" Nevau said, "W-what?" Torba said out of confusion, Nevau held his sword his the air, "NOW AWAKEN! GOREBASH!!!" Nevau shouted as his sword glowed a light purple color and transformed into a Halberd spear.

"What in the hell!?" Torba said still confused on what had happened, "Now to finish this!" Nevau said, "TERRA SNAKE!!!" Nevau yelled and from under his feet, his Terra Snake emerged with him riding on it like a dragon knight, the Terra Snake charged towards Torba, "You're beating me this easily!" Torba yelled and threw her sparkling light at the Terra Snake and exploded on contact, for a brief moment Torba smiled but her smiled turned into a look of shock as Nevau still riding his Terra Snake shot trough the smoke undamaged and headed towards her Nevau lept of the head of the snake at the last minute as the snake collided with Torba, "Alright now to help the others!" Nevau said running in the direction of where the others were.

Zade stood staring at Borcus who slowly continued to drink his bottle of alcohol, Zade waited patiently for Borcus to finish drinking and once Borcus finished he spoke up, "We're here for the young princess but I feel like something just went wrong!" Borcus said, "Maybe your boss lost to Lash a second time?" Zade said calmly, "Nah I doubt, Cyber had trained himself to the very limit after that whole ordeal back at Shinzo and those ruins. But still maybe there's someone who's stronger that him and your friend here as well" Borcus said as he scratched his chin, "Enough talk let's just end this!" Zade said readying his scythe, "Very well let's do this boy!" Borcus said.

He then lept off of the roof and towards Zade, however he was stopped by Zade's spectral grasp, "Spectral slam!" Zade yelled as the spectral hand smashed Borcus into the ground, "Spectral fist!" Zade said and Borcus was sent into the air by the spectral fist and was beaten with another spectral slam and a while and Zade knocked Borcus out with his spectral grasp.

Zade then turned to see Nevau headed towards, "If you came to help then you are a little late I just finish!" Zade told, "Good to know, then we should help Mystic out!" Nevau said, "She really doesn't need out help but sure let's go!" Zade said, before Zade and Nevau could get moving they notice a lightning bolt strike near the area where Mystic was, "Let's hurry!" Zade said worried and Nevau nodded and the two hurried to where the lightning bolt strucked when they arrived they saw Cyber holding Lash by his throat.

Lash had bruises on his body, "Lash!" Nevau yelled when he saw his friend being held by his throat, Zade and Nevau ran towards Cyber ready to attack him, Cyber held his left hand ready to fire lightning at Zade and Nevau but he was quickly hit by a flying fist made from fire hitting him in the chest, the blow caused Cyber to drop Lash and caused him stagger backwards, gasping for air.

Zade and Nevau turned around to see Zeke walking slowly towards Cyber with a serious look on his face, "Zeke?" Nevau asked, "You two get grab Lash and get yourselves to safety. Its time I taught Cyber a lesson he won't forget!" Zeke ordered as he cracked his knuckles, "Right!" the two replied and Nevau grabbed Lash's right over his shoulder and lifted him to his feet, "Thanks!" Lash said weakly, "No problem man! Now let's get out of here!" Nevau said. 

As the three were leaving the area Cyber was about to give chase but Zeke grabbed his arm and punched him hard in the face, "Your going nowhere Cyber until you get pass me!" Zeke said, "Tch! That seems to be the case. Alright let's end this brother!!!" Cyber yelled charging towards Zeke with his fist ready to hit Zeke but Zeke dodged Cyber's punch and punched Cyber hard in the stomach with enough force to knock him out, "It's over Cyber!" Zeke said placing placing cuffs on Cyber wrists, he then did the same with Torba, Linda, and Borcus and placed them in the castle's jail, and after that placed Shade and Slake in the medical center.

"I better tell commandant Jared that those four did well in dealing with the bandits as well as protecting the princess once he wakes up! After all they deserve it!" Zeke said with a smile as he headed to the barracks and opened Lash, Nevau and Zade's room door to see the four along with Zero fast asleep, "Rest well you guys you did well!" Zeke smile and quietly closed the door behind him and headed back to his room after taking the princess back to her room and dismissing the knight Lash placed in charge to protect her.


	40. Tigershrine Village

Lash and Nevau were on a mission to deal with a rampage of three cyclops who were terrorizing the village of Tigershrine, it had been four days after the ordeal with Lightning Fox Gang, the four including Zero were promoted to knight guards, Lash wore black and red armor, with a electric blue symbol of a western style dragon on his chest plate, and cape.

Nevau wore dark purple and brown armor with a dark green symbol of an ogre's skull on his chest plate and cape, Lash and Nevau were riding on their own horses giving to them after they were promoted, Lash's horse was named Dozer which he had named after a horse his dad used to own, and Nevau's horse was name Misty named after one of his cats back on earth.

Lash, Mystic, Nevau and Zade along with Zero were made into a new brigade called the Lion brigade for their courage and strength when facing the Lightning Fox Gang, with Zade as Captain and Lash as his lieutenant and Zero was the mascot or pet of the team and even got his own armor.

Lash and Nevau soon arrived at Tigershrine where they saw that parts of the village were destroyed by the Cyclops' rampage, "Let's hurry and help the villagers!" Nevau said to Lash, Lash nodded in response and the two hopped off their horses and ran to find the cyclops after they heard a roar at the center of the village.

When they got to the center of the village they saw that two of the three cyclops were dead with their skulls cracked open by some attack from a blunt object and when they saw the last cyclops, they saw a familiar face, "Is that old man Norman?" Nevau asked when he saw Norman, "It is!" Lash replied, Norman stood facing the cyclops with a stoic face despite the creature constantly roaring and let out a tired sigh, "Noisy bugger aren't you!" Norman mumbled before lept into the air eight meters above the cyclops and brought his wooden sword crashing down onto its head, "Shishi Sonson!" Norman yelled as a bright grey slash line appeared on the cyclops head, the cyclops collapsed to the ground as hard as a stone as blood rushed from its head, Norman after taking a deep breath and exhaling turned his head to see Lash and Nevau standing in awe at what he had just done, "Ah! You two how have you been?" He asked with a relaxed smile on his face.

Back at Zelpius; Zade sat at his desk in his and Lash office filling out paperwork that was giving to him by the commandant, Zade's armor was a combination of electric pink and flame orange with a dark blue symbol of a skull wearing a reaper hood on his chest plate and cape.

"Hmm! Maybe I should of sent Mystic in Lash's place for that mission!" Zade said looking at Lash's desk which had a small pile of paperwork, Zade sighed and was about to continue when he heard a knock at the door, "Come in!" He called, the door opened and Mystic along with Zero stepped in, Mystic's armor was combination of hot pink and leaf green with a crimson red symbol of a wolf howling on her chest plate and cape while Zero's armor color was flame red and black with a grayish-blue fish on his right arm and cape.

"What's up?" Zade asked, "We've finished that mission you gave us!" Mystic informed Zade, "That's good to hear!" Zade smiled, "Is there anything else to do?" Mystic asked, "Well... You could help with Lash's paperwork. I doubt he'll be eager to do it after returning from that mission at Tigershrine" Zade suggested, Mystic shrugged her shoulders and said why not as she sat down at Lash's desk and began doing some paperwork, "Hey Zade" Mystic said, "Yeah?" Zade replied, "Why did you send Lash on that mission instead of me?" Mystic asked, he sighed and replied to Mystic, "I thought he needed the exercise instead of being cooped up in this office doing nothing but paperwork!" Zade replied, "I guess you're right!" Mystic said and continued to finish the paperwork.

Back at Tigershrine; Norman had invited Lash and Nevau into his house that he was temporary staying in while he was at Tigershrine, Elizabeth walked out of the lounge and when she saw Lash and Nevau she ran up to greet them, "Lash how's it been?" She asked Lash, "Hey what about me?" Nevau asked, "What about you?" Elizabeth growled, "Now that's just cruel" Nevau said as he huddled in a comer, "We're doing fine" Lash replied, "Good to know, so are you and Nevau knights now?" Elizabeth asked, "Pretty much" Lash replied, "We've been sent here on a mission involving some cyclops terrorizing the village!" Nevau said returning to his normal mood, "I see well that's why we're here as well!" Norman said, "Well come into the kitchen and we can talk in there" Elizabeth said.

The three followed her into the kitchen and sat at the dining table, "So any Idea on where they're coming from?" Nevau asked, "Yes. When I first got here I asked a couple locals and apparently they're coming from a cave in a mountain to the west of here!" Norman explained, "Then what are we waiting for let's go!" Nevau said getting up, "Hold your horses lad! We don't want to rush head first into Cyclops territory without a plan!" Norman said with a stern look on his face, "Well I could use my Leviagon form!" Lash said, "Levia-what?" Elizabeth asked, "Its my ultimate beast form" Lash replied, "And I could use my ogre form!" Nevau said, "Very well I guess that'll work. Their lair is in a cave to the northwest of here! Me and Elizabeth will stay here and guard the village!" Norman sighed as Lash and Nevau got up and said their goodbyes and left the village and headed towards the cave to the northwest.

Lash and Nevau soon arrived at the cave that Norman directed them too, the two got off their horses and headed into the cave and soon reached the Cyclops' lair where they were bout twenty feet above all the Cyclops and had a slop going down, the two observed the area, "Yup this looks big enough to turn into the Leviagon!" Lash observed, "Good to know!" Nevau smile, Lash and Nevau fist bumped each other and hopped off the edge and half way down Lash transformed into the Leviagon while Nevau transformed into his Ogre form.

When Lash landed he sent a few Cyclops into the air where Nevau crushed a few Cyclops with his Terra Snakes, Nevau noticed that the Leviagon's body structure was now the same as Lash's 'Was the form adjusting to Lash's appearance?' Nevau thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the Cyclops', "Looks like we've got their attention!" Nevau said with Lash grunting in agreement, the Cyclops took a look at the Leviagon and took a nervous gulp before charging at the two, Lash stomped on a few and punched ten into the ceiling at full force while Nevau slice and diced a few Cyclops and crushed a few more with large boulders.

Lash incinerated sixteen Cyclops with a fire breath and Nevau crushed twenty Cyclops with fissure attack which closed soon after it open and swallowed the twenty Cyclops, the two continued to fight the Cyclops' until they were all dead and Lash and Nevau changed back into their human forms, "Well that was fun!" Lash grinned as he stretched his body, "Yeah. It was, anyway come on let's head back to Tigershrine and tell Norman that Tigershrine won't have to worry about the Cyclops' anymore and then head back to Zelpius and tell the commandant that mission is complete!" Nevau said and him and Lash then began walking up the slop and out of the cave back to Tigershrine.

Far to the northwest of Soncosa; Vencen, Eleana and Patrick were staying at an inn in a small town called Helinor after gaining knowledge of where Mortem may of gain the knowledge of the golems existence, Vencen sat reading a few books about the Dragon War with Patrick while Eleana tried to gain information about the Dragon War or about the golems.

Soon Eleana soon return back to Vencen and Patrick, "Any luck?" Patrick asked Eleana, Eleana shook her head in response, "I see! Well don't worry, we'll probably find some information soon" Vencen said, "I heard you three were looking for information! Maybe I can be assistance!" a man said as he walked up to the three, the man looked around eighteen years old, he had dark blue hair with two parts of his that looked like rabbit ears bent backwards, he wore a spiked dog collar around his neck, a black t-shirt, dark grey ripped jean and black boots with dark red eyes.

"And you are?" Vencen asked the stranger, "The name is Alexander Darkson but please call me Alex!" Alex introduced himself with a smile while placing a bag on the table in front of Vencen, Eleana and Patrick, the three looked at each before looking back at Alex with suspicious looks.


	41. The Darkness Dragon and the Necromancer!

Vencen, Eleana and Patrick stared at the man who introduced himself as Alexander "Alex" Darkson, "How do we know the information you have is same information that we're looking for?" Patrick asked Alex, "I heard you three were looking for Information about the Dragon War!" Alex said, "How'd you know that?" Vencen asked, "I was eavesdropping!" Alex said which he received a annoyed look from the three, "Anyway... "I have a few books and notes here about the Dragon War" Alex said, "Any notes books about the Dragon War Golems?" Eleana asked, "Let's see here..." Alex said looking through his books and notes, "Ah! Here we are!" Alex said picking up a few notes and passed them to Vencen.

Vencen, Patrick and Eleana took a look at the notes and after awhile, "According to this note there is a cave to the northwest of here! Maybe we should take a look!" Eleana said, "Alright let's go then!" Patrick said labeling the caves possible whereabouts northwest of his map, "I'm coming too then!" Alex said, "Why?" Vencen asked, "Well they are my notes and I'm curious on what's in that cave!" Alex answered, "Alright, just allow us to gather our stuff and meet you there!" Patrick said to Alex, "Very well!" Alex said placed all his notes back into his bag and left the Inn.

"Can we trust this guy?" Vencen asked the two, "It depends on what he's after or what he does!" Eleana replied, Vencen, Patrick and Eleana then headed to their rooms to collect their stuff and left the Inn.

Vencen, Patrick and Eleana eventually found the cave mentioned in Alex's notes and they saw Alex sitting on rock going through his notes, he looked up to see the three and placed his notes back into his bag, "Well you lot certainly took your time!" he said, "It wasn't exactly easy to find a cave in the forest!" Vencen replied, "Well! Whatever you lot ready to see what's inside?" Alex asked, the three nodded and the four headed inside the cave.

"Amazing the carvings on the walls shows us the details of the Dragon War!" Alex said in awe at the wall carvings once the the four had reached, the wall carvings showed depictions of men and Dragons facing against a legion of Dragons that were labeled Evil Dragons and as they walked they eventually reached a large round room.

"Look! This carving shows us the three heroes; Marcus the Mage, Helios the Templar and Cassandra the Rogue facing two of the Evil Dragon's Generals: Azi Dahaka!" he said examining the carving in detail, "What's the other general's name?" Eleana asked, "I believe her name was Umbaroth!" Alex replied as the four continued examining the carvings until they came to a crossroad.

"Well looks like we have to split up!" Eleana said, "Well I'll go with Patrick. Perhaps we'll find something about those golems!" Alex said, "Then me and Eleana will head that way and we'll try to hopefully find the same clues!" Vencen said pointing to the right corridor, the four then split up with Vencen and Eleana heading into the right corridor while Patrick and Alex headed left.

Vencen and Eleana continued heading down the corridor they picked which had a huge gap on the left side, "Careful chances are there will be spikes at the bottom. So watch your step alright!" Vencen said, "Alright!" Eleana replied and she began sticking closer to Vencen, Vencen had a touch the wall as he observed the carvings to their right, all the carvings showed were brave soldiers and Dragons facing hordes of Evil Dragons, "I wonder what caused regular Dragons to end up becoming Evil Dragons?" Vencen asked, "Do you think the Dragons helping the soldiers feel bad for killing their own kin?" Eleana asked, "Perhaps. But it is hard to tell really!" Vencen replied, as they continued walking until Eleana felt the a part of the ground underneath her collapse.

Eleana screamed as she began to fall but Vencen quickly drop the torch he was holding and grabbed Eleana's right arm, "Gotcha!" Vencen grunted as he pulled Eleana back up, "T-thank you!" Eleana thanked Vencen as she tightly hugged him, "Don't mention" Vencen replied as he felt Eleana's body shake and heard her breathing heavily, the two stayed where they were until Eleana calmed down and continued down the corridor.

"By the looks of this carving two giant golems are destroying everything in their path and slaughtering anything that got in their way well except for the Evil Dragons!" Alex observed, Patrick looked at the carving and saw the two golems one looked like a demon and had the omega symbol on its chest while the other looked like an angel and had the alpha symbol on its forehead.

Patrick remembered Zade's description of the golems, "Yup those are the golems my friends Lash, Zade and I guess Nevau had fought!" Patrick said, "They actually fought those?" Alex asked, "And won. Apparently years of being deactivated must of drained their magical energy or they managed to destroy them before they were fully activated! Zade wasn't clear on that. But he did say Mystic was the one to destroy them!" Patrick explained to Alex, "Interesting!" was all Alex said and the two continued down.

Vencen and Eleana soon reached the end of the path they took, reaching a smooth round room with a large carving that reached to the roof and to the doorway, the two began to observe the large carving until, Eleana had a look at a very interesting carving, "Vencen look at this!" Eleana called out to Vencen and Vencen walked to where she was standing, "What is it?" Vencen asked, "Looked at this part of the carving" Eleana said, Vencen took a look and saw the three heroes Alex mentioned on one of the carvings facing an extremely large pitch black Wyvern surrounded in black mist with its jaw wide open and emerald green eyes staring at the three heroes with malice and with a claw raised high ready to come crashing down and crush the three heroes.

"What is this!?" Vencen asked looking at the Wyvern, "There's a plaque here" Eleana said noticing the plaque, "What does it say?" Vencen asked, Eleana cleared her throat and began reading the plaque, "Beware! The black dragon's breathe with teeth that can tear through the flesh and claws that will slice all to ribbons! When the hour of twilight strikes shall Emerald eyes that pierce through the soul! The Darkness Dragon rises to send those all who dare face it to oblivion! Face the wraith of Nephilix at your own risk" Eleana read, "Nephilix the Darkness Dragon?" Vencen asked.

Far to the north of Soncosa in the mountain range; Lyra, Zyker and Ruby were exploring looking for anything that could help them understand Arcadia and as they continued to walk, they eventually reached a tall ruined tower, Lyra went up and tried to open the door but it was locked tight, "Wouldn't be surprise!" Zyker said as he looked at the locked door, "H-h-how are you not cold!? We're in the mountain range and even with this coat I'm still cold!?" Ruby asked Zyker who was wearing only a simple red t-shirt, black shorts ankle length sock and lace-up shoes where as both Ruby and Lyra were wearing black fuzzy coats, jeans and snow boots.

"Because I can control ice, so I don't feel cold!" Zyker replied, "Come on two let's find a way into this tower! "Lyra said to the two and the three began looking for another way in, when they couldn't find a way in through the bottom, they began searching on higher ground and sure enough found a balcony to reach well if you ignore the large gap but luckily for them Zyker used his ice powers to create a bridge for them to cross and headed inside the tower.

When they were inside the tower the three could hear talking and crouch down and peered over the stair way and saw a man wearing a black rope with skull shoulder pads, the man was bald and had an eye patch over his right eye and he also carried a staff which at a skull at the top, the man was approached by three people one woman and two dark skinned men.

"Did you manage to recover what ever remains was left of him?" the man asked the three people, "Yes sir!" The woman said passing the man something that wrapped in cloth, the man grinned and chucked the parcel into a cauldron that was behind along with some other ingredients, "Are you sure this will work?" the woman asked, "Of course my dear. Now be patient!" the man replied and began chanting, the liquid inside the cauldron began to bubble and boil as something stir beneath the waters and soon a skeleton burst out out of the surface screaming in agony as muscles and skin began to wrap around it.

"Necromancy!?" Zyker whispered in shock, "I thought Vencen said that the only person who knew that was long dead!" Ruby whispered, "Come on let's get out of here before we're spotted and warn the others!" Lyra said, "Why?" Ruby asked, "Because that skeleton looks like someone we know!" Lyra replied and the three left the tower, Zyker smashed the ice bridge and the three began their journey to Zelpius to warn the others.

"Well it looks you two found something useful!" Alex said as he and Patrick walked into the room, "Found anything?" Eleana asked, "Nothing useful I'm afraid" Patrick replied, Alex began observing the carving, "This part of the carving shows us the three heroes defeating Azi Dahaka. This part shows us them sealing the golems. This part a man with pale skin, white hair and with a strange black claw-like arm. And lastly this part shows us them fighting a strange Wyvern that is apparently called the Darkness Dragon!" Alex observed, "Wait I recognized that arm!" Eleana said pointing at the arm on the carving, "Yeah that's the arm Lash has!" Vencen said, "A fragment of the Dragon War perhaps?" Patrick asked, "Its doubtful. But whatever that arm means, I doubt it will mean anything good for your friend. Because by the looks of that dragon the three heroes are fighting even though it's a carving. It's giving off an ominous vibe!" Alex replied.

Back at Zelpius; Lash, Mystic, Nevau, Zade and Zero were having a day off after having four weeks full of assignments relaxing in a small field five meters away from the castle, Lash was relaxing in a tree while drawing something in his sketch book, Zade was reading a book, Nevau was looking through his cards while sitting on a stump, Mystic was eating a potato top pie and Zero was chasing a monarch butterfly.

"Hey Zade, I've been thinking something!" Lash said to Zade, "What?" Zade replied, "Couldn't your powers possibly be related or a form of Necromancy? Lash asked, "Hmm... That could be a possibility" Zade replied, soon the sun began to set and the five packed up their stuff and began heading back into the castle until...

[The time is fast approaching!] an unfamiliar voice said in Lash's head and before he could ask who it was, Lash felt his pulse slow down and a very sharp pain began coursing through his right arm and he collapsed onto the ground gripping his right arm.


	42. Mystic vs. Marge

"As far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with him!" a doctor said as he examined Lash, "Are you sure?" Nevau asked, "Yes. I'm sure. As far as I can tell there is nothing psychically wrong with him." the doctor said, after that he packed up his equipment and left, "Well he was helpful!" Nevau said in sarcasm, it had been five days since Lash passed out and Mayhem had asked for a doctor from serpent blade kingdom, "I wonder what caused him to pass out! He was fine before" Mystic said, "Well he doesn't have any illness as far as we know!" Nevau said.

An hour passed and Mayhem and Zeke walked into the room, "How is he?" Mayhem asked, "Well the doctor said there's nothing wrong with him physically! But that doesn't help" Zade replied, "Well if there nothing wrong physically with him, then it may be his magical energy going haywire!" Zeke said, "Is that dangerous?" Nevau asked, "No! It's as safe as a punching bag filled with cotton candy and glitter!" Zeke replied with sarcasm in his voice, "We'll arrange a healer to come and look at him and in the meantime I have assignments for you three!" Mayhem said passing the three each an assignments.

"Mystic there is a spider woman causing trouble at Tigershrine! I want you to go deal with her! Zade there have been sightings of feral were-wolves in the area outside of town go and deal with it! And Nevau fill out these paperwork as punishment for that stunt you pulled on Monday!" Mayhem said, "Aw! Dammit!" Nevau moaned, "Karma's a bitch!" Zade snickered while wearing a top hat, a monocle and wearing a tuxedo for... some reason...?

"Alright I'll head off immediately! Please wake up when I get back!" Mystic said to Lash and kissed him on the cheek and exit the room, Zade slapped Lash across the face, "Wake up! She's gone! Hurry up you bastard!!!" Zade said as he continued to slap and then left the room doing a little dance, with Mayhem and Zeke having sweat drops on their foreheads, "Alright guess I should fill those paperwork... after you catch me!" Nevau said as he began to run but Lash's left arm reached out and grabbed his leg subconsciously and tripped him over, "*What is happening today!" Mayhem sighed and left the room with Zeke while dragging Nevau who was clawing the ground desperate not to do the paperwork, "Guess I'll stay here then!" Zero finally spoke up.

Mystic rode on her horse Serenity towards towards Tigershrine and when she arrived she found the village covered in large spiderwebs with the villagers trapped on them like flies, Mystic turned around to see two familiar people heading towards her, "Well I'd be damned. Its Mystic! Here to help out are you?" Norman asked, "Yes I am!" Mystic replied, "Was this caused by the spider woman?" she asked, "Indeed it was! *First the cyclops' and now some smug woman!" Norman sighed scratching his chin, "Do you know where she went?" Mystic asked, "She headed into the woods after I gave her bit of a fight! I'm going to help the villagers!" Norman said cutting the spider web's edges and freeing the villagers with Elizabeth, Mystic quickly headed in the direction of the woods.

Zade was outside the castle walls looking for the feral were-wolves, "Now... If I was a were-wolf where would I be?" Zade asked looking around, he continued to searching until he narrowly avoided being slashed by a claw, "Found you! Or well you all found me!" Zade said when he saw the were-wolves, and all of the were-wolves charged at Zade, but he pulled his Scythe; Grimmscythe and sliced the were-wolves in half, "Well that was easy! Better head back!" Zade said heading back to the castle.

But on his way back he felt a little woozy and his heart pulse felt like it slowed down, [The hour of Twilight is fast approaching!] a distorted male voice said in Zade's head, "Huh!? Who's there!?" Zade asked but no one answered, "I... guess it was my imagination..." Zade said uncertain and he continued to head back.

Mystic entered the woods to the east of Tigershrine and looked around to see large spider webs covering the trees with small animals attached to the webs, "She must be close by!" Mystic said to herself as she freed the animals, "Well! Look who's brave enough to wonder into the spider's web!" A raspy voice said behind Mystic, Mystic spun around to see Marge a spider woman Lash had fought five months ago when it was just him, Mystic, Eleana and Vencen, "You look familiar!" Mystic said to Marge.

"This sucks!" Nevau sobbed as he went through rows of paperwork, "Well you did bring this upon yourself!" Zade said once he arrived back into his office and saw Nevau, "But you and Lash were also involved!" Nevau said, "More along the lines of you dragging us into your prank! Now get back to work!" Zade ordered, Nevau groaned and went back to work while Zade checked up on Lash, who was still unconscious and Zero was curled up asleep on his legs.

Zade suddenly felt a slight sharp pain on his right forearm and looked down to see a faint violet color flash through his arm, "What in the...?"Zade said before his arm up to his elbow turned into a dark violet claw-like arm that almost looked like Lash's arm, "What the flying hippopotamus wearing a top hat and monocle with wings doing a little dance fuck!?" Zade asked confused while looking at his new arm.

Mystic was thrown into a tree by Marge, the two had been fighting for an hour and despite being injured she still put up a good fight, Mystic panted as she stood back up and pulled out her staff, Marge scuttered towards Mystic and she used her telekinesis to push Marge back and charged towards her towards while avoiding Marge's right claw and strucked her in the left side of her's ribs with her staff and kicked her in the chin, "Ouch! Why does it feel like you're trying to end this as quickly as possible?" Marge asked, "Because I have something better to do than put up with you!" Mystic replied, Marge hissed and once again scuttered towards Mystic.

Vencen, Eleana, Patrick and their new companion Alex were going over their notes in a town that was west to Zelpius on their way to tell the others on what they found with Alex's help, Vencen and Patrick evaluated the notes and their findings while Alex wrote down everything on a laptop he had and Eleana was watching Patrick and Vencen while sitting next to Vencen with a slight blush on her face, as Vencen and Patrick went over on the carving of the Darkness Dragon and what the hour of Twilight means, Eleana heard a feminine voice in her head.

[The hour of Twilight is fast approaching child!] the voice said to Eleana and she looked around for the source of the voice but saw no one else around, she then yelp in pain as she felt a sharp jolt of pain that coursed through her right forearm Eleana and the others looked at her right forearm to see a brilliant white light surrounding her arm like a small whirlwind of light and re-shaped itself into a white claw arm that bared an uncanny resemblance to Lash's arm.

Eleana's new arm had light red rings around the fingers and forearm and was softer compared to the hardness and roughness of Lash's arm, "E-eh!?" Eleana yelped confused, "Eleana you're arm changed!?" Patrick said shock, "Are you alright?" Vencen asked examining her arm, "Y-yes! I'm fine but I don't know what happened!" Eleana replied "But I did hear a voice say something to me right before this happened!" she said, "What did the voice say?" Alex asked, "All it said was; the hour of Twilight is fast approaching!" Eleana replied, "The hour of Twilight what does that mean, and why is it fast approaching?" Alex mumbled, "Perhaps we might find some information on it as we head to Zelpius! There's a cave a little to the south of here maybe it's worth investigating!" Vencen said looking at one of the notes, "Then let's go!" Patrick said.

Nevau sighed as he continued to work on his paperwork punishment, he was half-way done and had taken a break, he had saw a glimpse of the healer Mayhem and Zeke hired, he was concern for his friend's well being and hope he would wake up soon, Nevau took a deep breath and exhaled before going back to work, [The hour of Twilight is fast approaching!] a deep masculine voice suddenly said, "Hmm? Who's there? "Nevau asked looking around but saw no one he then felt a sharp pain course through his right forearm and when he looked down he saw a bronze light flash and his right forearm changed into a bronze claw-like arm, "What the heck!?" Nevau asked shocked. 

Mystic avoid attack after attack from Marge, her armor was chipped and ripped and blood flowed from the left side of her forehead, Marge had a few bruises om her and she cackled as she slowly walked towards Mystic, Mystic couldn't find the strength to fight as the two had been fighting for hours, but as soon as Marge got two meters closer to Mystic, an arrow shot through the air and landed with a thunk in Marge's back, Marge yelled in pain as she coughed blood and turned around to see where the arrow came from only to receive two arrows striking her shoulders.

Marge could barely react as one arrow struck her in the middle of her chest and one more striking her head killing her the moment it struck her head, "Who's there?" Mystic asked when she heard footsteps her question was answered when Violet one of Mortem's old henchmen appeared, "Why hello there Mystic!" She said, "Violet!" Mystic said surprised.

Back at Zelpius in Lash, Nevau and Zade's quarters; "How's he looking, Josephine?" Zeke asked the healer, "It's just as you suspected Zeke, the magical energy in his body is going haywire but I should get it to calm down with the right equipment. But it will take me a few days!" Josephine said, "Then I will supply you with everything you need!" Zeke said, "Thank you Zeke!" Josephine thanked and Zeke left the room to allow Josephine to do her work and headed to the dungeons.


	43. Zade and Nevau vs. Tiffany and Billy

"Here's your lunch!" Zeke said to Cyber as he dropped a metal tray that had five slices of bread with butter spread on it, "Bread again!" Cyber sighed before he grabbed the tray and began eating the bread, Zeke left the dungeon and bumped into Mayhem, "Ah! Zeke can you pass this assignment to Zade and Nevau!" Mayhem said to Zeke, "Sure but why?" Zeke asked, "Mystic said she's encountered someone during her assignment. So I'm going to our office where she's waiting!" Mayhem explained, "Alright I'll pass it to them!" Zeke said walking towards the lion brigade's office.

Zeke knocked on the door, "Come in!" Zade called out, Zeke opened the door and walked in, "There's a new assignment for you two- what happened to your arms?" Zeke asked Zade and Nevau when he saw their claw-like arms, "We don't know. They just suddenly changed into this after we both heard this voice in our heads!" Nevau replied, "What did the voices say?" Zeke asked raising an eyebrow, "The hour of Twilight is fast approaching" was all the voices said!" Zade replied, Zeke placed a hand on his chin, "Sounds familiar?" Zade asked, "Yes in a way... But for now you two have an assignment!" Zeke said handing the two their assignment, "What's is it about?" Nevau asked, "There is a Minotaur and Centaur causing havoc at Resaka Village!" Zeke explained, "Then we'll head off immediately!" Zade said and the two left the room and headed to the stables.

Zade and Nevau rode their horses to Resaka Village and dismounted when they arrived, the two looked around to see houses burned to the ground and the scent of death lingered in the air, "Are we too late?" Nevau asked looking around, "I hope not!" Zade replied, very soon the two heard the sound of two voices and went to investigate.

When they arrive at the area where they heard the two voices they hid behind a wall and peered over to see two men hauling the corpses of the villagers onto a large wagon, "Dammit we're too late!" Nevau whispered with anger in his voice with Zade replying with a nod, "Is that all of them Tiffany?" one of the men asked his partner, "Should be Billy!" Tiffany replied, "I wounder how Lady Marge is doing on her mission at Tigershrine?" Billy asked, "I bet she's doing fine! Anyway let's get these corpses hauled off and have another look around the village in case we missed some!" Tiffany said, he then tapped on the side of the wagon to signal the rider to haul the corpses off to somewhere.

"When do we strike?" Nevau asked Zade, "When they pass by here! But for now let's be patient!" Zade replied, Tiffany and Billy soon walked past Zade and Nevau's hiding spot in which the two hopped out and behind Tiffany and Billy, the two men turned around to see Zade and Nevau, "Who are you two?" Tiffany asked, "I am Zade! Captain of the Lion brigade!" Zade introduced himself, "And I'm Nevau a member of the Lion brigade!" Nevau introduced himself.

Zeke walked into the castle's library after heading to the supply store and gave the shopkeeper the list of things that Josephine will need, he searched down the T section of the library, "Hmm... That's strange I remember seeing a book labeled; The Hour of Twilight!" Zeke mumbled to himself as he kept looking through the section until he found a gab between two books and went up to the librarian, "Do you know who rented out the book; The hour of Twilight?" He asked the librarian, "No. In fact that book should still be where it was?" the librarian replied, "Well its not there" Zeke said, "Let me have a see!" the librarian said getting off their chair and heading to the T section.

"What! Where'd it go?" the librarian asked when the two arrived to where the book should be located, as the librarian searched through the section in case someone thought it would be funny to hide the book behind another book or messed with the order in which the books where placed in and the two headed back to the librarian's desk, "It's gone!" the librarian grumbled with a bit of worry in their voice. 

"Who do yo-" but before Zeke could ask he heard a slight click noise and threw a barrier over him, the librarian and the nearby books just in time to block an explosion, "W-what the!?" the librarian asked confused, Zeke got a glimpse of a cloaked figure running away just before the explosion occurred and chased after them once the barrier subsided, "Well at least it was nice of him to keep the books safe!" the librarian said not bothering to call after Zeke.

Zade avoided a swing from Tiffany's fist which smashed the wall behind Zade into pieces, Zade was in his Monkey Elf form while Tiffany was in his Minotaur form, he lept back and his tail wrapped around a nearby tree branch landed both feet on the tree branch and fired his nail gun, Tiffany barely avoided the attack while losing his right horn and out of rage he smashed the tree with one punch but Zade had lept to a nearby rooftop just before the fist collided with the tree, Zade taunted Tiffany by smacking his backside and ran, Tiffany let out an angry snort and lept onto the rooftop that Zade was on and chased after him.

Nevau hid behind a ran and hid behind walls while Billy who was in in Centaur form shot arrows at him, but unlike Zade, Nevau was not in his beast form, Nevau brought out his weapon when he heard the sound of galloping and saw a hand being placed on the edge of the wall he was hiding behind.

Nevau jump out from where he was hiding and thrusted his halberd at Billy, and Billy could only move his body slightly to the left side so that Nevau's halberd struck his left should, he then punch Nevau in the stomach and quickly turned around and kicked Nevau with his hind legs with full strength and Nevau coughed out saliva when the hind legs hit him and sent him hurling a good few meters away from Billy, when Nevau landed on the ground and clutched his stomach while gasping and coughing out more saliva, but got back onto legs and ran with Billy giving chase.

Zade let out an annoyed sigh when he finally reach a dead end after leaping off of five buildings and into an ally when Tiffany was chasing him, "Got you now!" Tiffany said when Zade heard a loud thud behind him and turned to see Tiffany, Zade let out a smile behind his mask as he reached into his pocket and had a flashback to when he and Nevau where about to head off to Resaka Village.

FLASHBACK:

Hey Nevau!" Zade said to Nevau, "What?" Nevau replied, "We're going up against a Minotaur and Centaur right?" Zade asked, "Yeah! I'm surprised you forgot that!" Nevau replied, "I want to fight the Minotaur!" Zade said, "Why?" Nevau asked in which his question was answered with Zade pulling out a bright red towel, "You think this would work?" Zade asked, Nevau tried his best not to smile at Zade's plan with fighting the Minotaur, "N-no!" Nevau tried to say calmly, "Well... Who knows till I try? Eh?" Zade said with a smile behind his mask.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Zade pulled out his red towel and waved it in front of Tiffany, "Come on! Come on!" Zade said with a cheeky grin which was visible through his mask as he continued to wave the red towel, 'I-is this BASTARD mocking ME!?' Tiffany yelled in his head as he then let out an angry snort as he kicked dirt into the air behind him with his right hoof and let out a rage filled roar before charging at Zade with his remaining horn ready to pierce Zade.

Zade then threw the towel at Tiffany and got prepared to jump once Tiffany got near him but Tiffany swatted the towel away with his left hand, "Huh. Nevau was right for once!" Zade said right before Tiffany's right fist collided with his chest and sent him flying right through the ally wall, "Huh... I always... did wonder what's behind these walls" Zade said weakly as he began to lose consciousness.

Nevau had lept onto to the rooftop of the village's general store as he pulled an arrow out of his left shoulder, Nevau clenched his teeth tightly as he pulled the pull the arrow out with all his might once he pulled it out, he let out a muffle scream in pain and dropped the arrow onto the ground and headed further down the general store's rooftop.

'He can't get me up here can he?' Nevau asked himself, his question was answered when an arrow pierced right through the back of his leg right through the knee, Nevau yelled in pain and quickly limped away before another arrow could hit him.

Tiffany picked Zade up by the throat, "Well... anything else you want to pull out funny guy? A rubber chicken? A whoopie cushions? A Buzzer? No? Good!" Tiffany growled before throwing Zade back onto the street and slowly walked towards Zade, before a dark purple light flashed into the sky, "What the hell is that!?" Tiffany asked looking at the light before turning his attention back to Zade.

Nevau jumped from the rooftops and into a dumpster and when he landed felt a sharp pain shot through his left leg, "FUCK!!!" Nevau yelled in pain, Nevau quickly placed a hand on his mouth and listen quickly and heard the footsteps that belong to a horse's hoofs, "Come out! Come out! Where ever you arrrrrrrrrrrrrre?" Billy voice called out to Nevau, 'Dammit! Okay what would Lash or Zade would do in a situation like this?' Nevau asked himself and began thinking to himself when he remembered the ultimate beast transformation, he then slowly climbed out of the dumpster and closed his eyes took a deep breath and exhaled.

Nevau roared with all his might as his body was surrounded by a dark purple light, and the next thing Billy saw after he saw light was a giant wolf paw landing right in front of him, Billy looked up to see a giant dark purple dire wolf with lime green eyes staring directly at him, Billy would turn to run but his body was paralyzed with fear and he couldn't move, Nevau then opened his jaw and launched his head at Billy and after a few good chomps and swallowing what was left of Billy, Nevau reverted back to normal from and collapsed.

'I hope Billy is alright!' Tiffany said as he walked towards Zade who had suddenly got back up, "I would keep your attention on me Minotaur!" Zade(?) said, Tiffany stopped in his tracks when he heard Zade's voice suddenly become distorted as if there was someone else speaking, he stared at Zade(?) confused thinking that Zade was down for the count and ready for the finishing blow, "So you still got some fight left in ya huh?" Tiffany asked with smug smile but Tiffany could see that Zade(?)'s eyes were different behind his crack glasses, dark violet eyes stared at Tiffany with both smugness and confidence.

"Oh trust me it'll feel like you're fighting a whole new person!" Zade(?) replied and with one thrust cracked his left arm bone back into place, "Bring it!" Zade(?) said with a hand motion signaling Tiffany to come at him, Tiffany let out an angry snort and after he clicked the bones in his neck, he once again kicked dirt into the air behind him with his left hoof and with an angry roar charged at Zade(?).

Zade(?) remained still as Tiffany drew closer to him, and once he was close enough to him with one swift movement decapitated Tiffany with his claw-like arm, "H-how?" Tiffany asked with shocked before his lifeless head hit and and rolled on the ground behind Zade(?), he then felt another presence five feet away from him and saw Nevau, who had shock look on his face, "Z-Zade?" he asked, "Here at last?" Zade(?) asked before passing out.

Zeke managed to comer the cloaked figure in an ally way, it had began to rain and Zeke as well as the cloak figure were wet and exhausted from running, "No where to run now!" Zeke said walking towards the cloak figure, "Oh I don't think so!" the cloak figure said with what sounded like cockiness in their voice and with one jump they landed onto top of the ally wall, "Stop!!!" Zeke yelled at the cloaked figure, the cloak figure threw something at Zeke in which Zeke caught it.

It turned out Zeke had caught two things one was shape like a medium sized dictionary wrapped in four layers of cloth and the other was a small pouch, "Give the herbs inside that pouch to that blonde haired boy and his friends when they return!" the cloaked figure said, "What?" Zeke asked but it was too late as the cloaked figure disappeared after Zeke had looked up after looking at the small pouch, leaving him confused in the rain.


	44. Azi Dahaka and the Dragons

Zade awoke to find that he was Zelpius' medical center, "Ah! You're awake!" Mystic said walking up to his bed, "Yeah... What happened?" Zade asked, "I don't know. Nevau arrived back barely conscious with you on his back with your horses right behind him" Mystic replied, Zade turned his head to see Nevau in a separate bed sleeping, "I would've thought he leave me for dead" Zade joked.

Soon Zeke walked in with a small pouch in his right hand and with his hair soaked, "Hey Zeke what happened to you?" Mystic asked, "Long story! But there's good news!" he replied, "What's the good news?" Zade asked and just after he asked Lash walked into the medical center, "What's up guys!" he said with a smile, "Lash!" Zade and Mystic said with a smile when they saw him.

"That was quick! What did the healer do?" Mystic asked, "It was actually these herbs I got!" Zeke said holding up the small pouch, "What are those herbs?" Zade asked, "They're called Nekaro herbs and they are extremely rare and hard to get!" Zeke explained, "How'd you get them?" Zade asked, "Like I said it's a long story. But these herbs can heal you completely and restore your magical energy back to normal!" Zeke said, Zeke then went and turned the herb into tea and gave one to Zade and the other to Nevau when he woke up.

"So what happened at Resaka Village?" Zeke asked, Zade explained what happened at Resaka village, "Hmm! I see well I'll give this information to the captain!" Zeke said and he left the medical clinic, "What happened to your arms?" Lash asked Zade and Nevau when he saw their arms, Zade explained to Lash what happened to their arms, "Huh! The same thing happened to me right before I passed out!" Lash said with his arms crossed.

"What could this mean!" Zade said cleaning his slightly cracked glasses, "Who knows maybe that book Zeke gave us might hold a clue" Nevau said, "You might be right. Well if you excuse me I have some reading to do and I'll inform you guys if I find any thing of importance!" Zade said picking up the book and leaving the clinic, "Well I'll take a nap I'm still a bit groggy!" Lash said heading back to his bed at the barracks, Mystic had left with Zeke to met with Mayhem about a certain someone leaving Nevau on his own, "Hmm! Maybe I'll go for a little walk!" Nevau said leaving the clinic.

Zade sat down at his desk reading the book Zeke had given, he also took out a notebook and pencil to write down anything that might be important, as the hours passed and four of the notebooks pages had been filled, Zade had finished the book and placed it on his desk and let out a sigh as he stretched his arms and shook his right leg until he heard a small click, "All right I'd better inform the others on what I read!" Zade said getting up and picking the up his notebook as he left his office.

Nevau walked down the town and looked both directions, "Not much people around today" he said as he notice small groups of people walking down the pathways, Nevau took a deep breath and exhaled with a smile on his face, when he reached a certain part of town, "LOOK OUT!!!" someone shouted to Nevau, Nevau reacted and dodged an attack from a scythe, Nevau took a look at his attacker.

The attacker was a tall man who was wearing a brown hooded cloak, brown leather gloves, a black long sleeved shirt and black leather trousers with brown leather boots, Nevau could also see a white featureless mask with the attacker's eyes staring directly at him.

'By the looks of it, he's only after me!' Nevau thought to himself as he turned to look bystanders watching, "Go get out of here! I'll be fine!" Nevau told the bystanders, they nodded and quickly left as Nevau then brought out his Halberd and readied himself for combat as the cloaked man ran towards Neavu and swung his scythe.

Lash yawned after waking up from his nap, "Afternoon sleepy head!" Zero said to Lash once he woke, "What time is it?" Lash asked, "How should I know! I'm a cat!" Zero replied, "A cat that can talk!" Lash said somewhat monotone, Lash stood up and stretched his back as Zero hopped off of his bed and onto his right shoulder and the two left the room only to be attacked by a winged humanoid creature, "Really!? Just after I woke up!" Lash growled as he avoided the attack, "You boy. Are you named Lash?" the winged humanoid creature asked with a raspy voice, the winged humanoid creature appeared to be a dark purple and flame red dragon-human, it had the appearance of a male in his mid-twenties, it had the head of basilisk with dark orange eyes, it also had two more heads which look like they were asleep and a slim figure and a pair of leather pants with leather straps around the legs and two bat-like wings.

"Oh no! The guy next block over is!" Lash said with a sarcastic and very annoyed tone of voice, "Oh! I'm sorry my good sir. Sorry for bothering you!" Dragon-Human apologized and flew over to the next blocked, "A-are you serious... He fell for it...." Lash said scratching his head while Zero sighed in disbelief.

A few minutes later and the winged Dragon-Human returned with an annoyed look on its face, "How did I fall for something like that!?" the winged Dragon-Human grumbled to itself as it saw that Lash was still standing where he was when the winged Dragon-human believed his lie and flew over to the next block, the Dragon-Human landed in front of Lash.

"Alright I'm going to ask this again and I demand a serious answer! Are you Lash?" The Dragon-Human asked, "Yeah! I'm Lash and you are?" Lash replied and asked the Dragon-Human, "My name is Azi Dahaka!" Azi Dahaka replied, "Wait you're Azi Dahaka! Huh... Thought you'd be bigger!" Lash said, "I used to much bigger but I lost all the magical energy that I had after it was stolen from me during my slumber!" Azi said as he crossed his arms, "And you came to me! While also knowing my name and attacked me... Why?" Lash asked, "Because I've felt something within you! Something or rather someone familiar!" Azi said, "What?" Lash asked confused.

Nevau block blow after blow from his opponents attackers, Nevau swung his halberd but the cloaked man jump into the air and dived kicked Nevau but Nevau avoided it by doing a back-flip and spin kicked the man in the rips, however the man didn't seem to flinch and grabbed Nevau's leg and threw him into a wall, "Why does this keep happening!" Nevau groaned, he then took in a deep breath and changed into his ogre form and readied his halberd as he stood in a battle stance.

Zade was on his way back to the dorms to inform Lash and Nevau on his findings, but on his way to the dorms a distorted voice suddenly spoke up in his head, the same voice back when he received his claw arm and back with his fight with Tiffany the Minotaur, [Hello! Can you hear me clearly now?] The voice asked, 'Who is this?" Zade asked, [Ah! Excellent who can reply! My name is Chaorix the Chaos Dragon and one of the Dragons of Power that inhabit Acadia!] Chaorix replied, 'One of the Dragons of Power so there are others?' Zade asked, [Yes there three others; Lephix the Light Dragon, Garinix the Order Dragon and Nephilix the Darkness Dragon!] Chaorix answered, Zade expression changed and he remembered the letter that Eleana had sent from her, Vencen, Patrick and someone named Alex's investigation in a cave and discovered things related to the Dragon War and something called Nephilix.

Nevau continued fighting the cloaked man, the fight had gone on for three hours and Nevau was starting to feel tired, but suddenly he felt a sudden burst of power and the cloak man noticed Nevau right eye turned bronze and Nevau thrusted his halberd at full force and at full speed in which the cloaked man could barley dodged the attack and the spear part of Nevau's halberd tore through apart of both the cloaked man's hood and mask.

the cloaked man jumped on top of a roof of a nearby building, "Well that's enough now!" the cloaked man said in a cheery tone which caused Nevau to raise an eyebrow in confusion, "Well now it looks like the Dragon of Order inside you is awakening! So I better skedaddle before thing go south for me. Well good-bye for now~!" The cloaked man said and waved good-bye and vanished.

Nevau didn't bother chasing after the crazy man and reverted back to his human form, "Dragon of Order? What the hell is he on about!" Nevau asked himself as he headed back to the dorms while looking at his claw like arm.

Mystic sighed after a long day of putting up with Violet and her crap and now she had to take Violet to Cyber's cell in the dungeons, "Well. Here we are!" Mystic said deadpanned standing in front of the stairway, "What aren't you coming down to make sure I don't pull anything?" Violet asked, "Well this is usually a job for a Captain or a Lieutenant and I don't want to beat around the bush but... I don't like you!" Mystic replied with her deadpanned tone.

"I'll take it from here Mystic!" Lash said as he approached the two, "Are feeling alright?" Mystic asked, "I just finished talking with someone and I saw you two and overheard you two talking! So why is she here?" Lash asked, "She's here to visit Cyber and who did you talk too?" Mystic asked, "I'll talk to you later back at the dorms!" Lash replied and Mystic nodded and handed Lash the keys to the dungeons, "Alright Violet! Let's go" Lash said and he and Violet headed down to the dungeons and with Mystic heading back to the dorms.


	45. The Undead Army

Lash entered the office where he found Mystic, Nevau, Zero, Zade and Azi Dahaka waiting for him, "So how did the visit go?" Mystic asked, "Well... Cyber wasn't too frilled to see her" Lash said, "Okay. Good to know. By the way who's this? Me and Zade caught up with Mystic and we saw this guy!" Nevau asked pointing to Azi, "That's Azi Dahaka!" Lash replied, "The creator of the Golems!?" Nevau asked.

"Yes. I am" Azi replied, "Why are you here?" Zade asked, "I sensed someone familiar within Lash!" Azi answered, "It's Nephilix isn't it?" Zade asked and Azi nodded in response, "Wait. Nephilix is inside me!?" Lash asked, "Yes! Your right forearm is proof that you are the host of Nephilix the Darkness Dragon! Just like how both your friends are host to Chaorix and Garinix" Azi said, "I have Chaorix!" Zade said, "Then that means I have Garinix!" Nevau said, "So where's the fourth; Lephix?" Zade asked, "That I do not know!" Azi replied as he left the office, "Well he just told us that you three have three of the four dragons and he left. Rude!' Zero said.

Northwest from Zelpius in a village 17 kilometers away from Zelpius; Eleana stared up at afternoon sky while looking at her right arm, after awhile Eleana sighed and went back inside to see the others packing their things up, "Ready to head out?" Vencen asked, Eleana nodded and the four continued heading to Zelpius.

Zyker, Lyra and Ruby had arrived at Zelpius after using a stone that summoned a Griffin and were looking around for the others, and were approached by Zeke, "Hello you three! How have you been?" Zeke asked, "We've been good! We're looking for the others are they around here?" Zyker asked, "They should be in their office! Come I'll lead you too them, besides their something I need to discuss something with them myself!" Zeke said and the four began heading towards the Lion brigade's office.

When they arrived Zeke knocked on the door, "Come in!" Zade's voice called out, Zeke, Zyker, Lyra and Ruby entered the office to see the four standing around with their arms crossed, "Hey guys what's up!" Lash said when he saw Zyker, Lyra and Ruby, "You four we've got something to tell you!" Zyker said, "What's that?" Nevau asked, "There's a necromancer and an army of undead heading this way!" Ruby told them.

"Our scouts reported seeing an army of undead heading this way as well!" Zeke said, "Really? How far away are they?" Mystic asked, "From what the scout says they're probably three days away from Zelpius!" Zeke replied, "Then we better be prepared!" Zade said, "We'll help as well!" Zyker said with confidence, "Very well! I'll tell the Commandant then!" Zeke said with a smile as he left the room.

"Well I better go and see if Cyber hasn't managed to murder Violet through his cell!" Lash sighed leaving the office and heading towards the dungeons, "Well I'm going to have a break!" Mystic said leaving the room, "You guys should rent a room. I believe Eleana and the others are on their way!" Zade said, "We'll do that!" Lyra said as she, Zyker and Ruby left the room.

Lash arrived at the dungeons entrance just in time to see Violet walking up the stairs, "So... how was the visit?" Lash asked, "Well he was definitely not happy to see me. But he accept my apology none the less!" Violet replied, "What did you apologized about?" Lash asked raising an eyebrow, "Well that's between me and him!" Violet answered, "So what are you going to do now?" Lash asked, "I think I'll travel around the world! Maybe visit my home!" Violet said, "Well good luck!" Lash said as Violet put out her hand and Lash grabbed her hand and gave her a handshake afterwards Violet left.

After Violet left his field of vision, Lash sighed until he felt someone's arm violently wrap around his neck, "Yo Lash~!" Shade said happily, "Shade what are you doing here?" Lash asked, "We just woke up at the clinic!" Slake replied walking up to the two, "Oh! Yeah... Totally forgot you two were here during that Lightning Fox gang incident!" Lash said, "So, what's been happening?" Shade asked.

Lash explained what has been happening since the two were put in the clinic, and afterwards the two headed towards the commandants office, Lash stood near the entrance of the dungeons with his arms crossed as he looked up at the sky, Lash sighed and headed back to his office.

Nevau was sent on another patrol through the kingdom, until he heard a gruff and deep voice in his head, [Hello? Is this thing on?] the voice asked, 'Who is this?' Nevau asked as he continued to patrol through the kingdom, [My name is Garinix! The Dragon of Order!] Garinix answered, 'What do you want?' Nevau asked, [Have you notice that Chaorix had awakened inside your friend Zade?] Garinix replied, 'How would I know something like that? But yes!" Nevau replied, [Well that means that both me and him have awakened!] Garinix said, 'Wait! Only you and Chaorix have awakened? What about the other two?' Nevau asked.

[It seems that Nephilix seems to still be asleep, despite your friend passing out during his powers awakening! And as for Lephix... I can't seem to feel her presence. it seems that her powers have been divided between two people!] Garinix said, 'Well Eleana seems to have the light claw!' Nevau said, [I guess all we have to do is be patient on when the rest of her powers will appear!] Garinix said, 'And what about Nephilix? Can he be trusted, when Nephilix awakens in Lash?' Nevau asked, [I think you will find that out on your own. I believe I've wasted enough of your time so until then] Garinix said before going silent.

'Hey! Chaorix can I ask you something?' Zade asked the dragon within him, [What is it?] Chaorix replied, 'Just what is the hour of Twilight and why did you say that its fast approaching' Zade said, [The hour of Twilight is an event that happen every 1 million years here on Acadia. It is when the magical energy is at its peak and for us Dragons of Power are at our strongest!] Chaorix explained, 'And how strong are you now?' Zade asked.

[How power's differs from the current power of our current host so I can't say! We've lost most of our original powers when we lost our bodies] Chaorix replied, 'One more question; How did you come to have a host?' Zade asked, [I doubt any of us can remember. It has been a very long time Zade] Chaorix replied, 'That's okay all I needed was to know' Zade said with a smile.

Chaorix then went silent as Zade heard knocking on the door, he got up and opened the door to see Zeke, "What is it?" Zeke, "There will be a meeting tomorrow morning! So be sure to tell the others that!" Zeke informed Zade before leaving, "A meeting... Then this Undead Army must be getting closer, fast then!" Zade said with a serious look n his face.

On his way back to his office, Lash felt a sudden pulse of energy course through his body, Lash dropped to his knees clutching his heart as he began to breathe heavily and after awhile his breathing returned to normal, "Crap... What was that sudden pulse of energy...!" Lash grunted and he slowly walked back to his office as the sun began to set on the kingdom.


	46. The Undead army attacks! Protect Lion Village!!!

"Lash wake up! The commandant is calling a meeting and he want all the knights in the kingdom to report immediately!" Mystic grumbled as she tried to wake up Lash, "No... No I don't want to wear the maids outfit... the skirt's too short!" Lash mumbled incoherently in his sleep, Mystic sighed in annoyance as she then threw off his blankets to see he was just in his boxers, Mystic grabbed his right leg which she remembered that his right leg was mechanical and began dragging him out of his room and towards the courtyard.

In the courtyard; "Men as you have be... Lash why are you in your underwear?" Commandant Jared asked when he notice that Lash was just in his boxers, "Because I was dragged out of bed! Just ignore it sir and continue. I'll get change into my armor when this is over!" Lash replied, "Very well!" Jared said as he cleared his throat and continued with the debriefing.

"Well anyway... For the last few days I have been receiving reports of an Undead Army heading towards Zelpius. We have reason to believe that they will arrive here in a day or two! However we will hopefully intercept them before they arrive at Lionshrine Village! We will leave at nightfall, so you all have a full day to prepare yourselves! Dismissed!" Jared explained as he dismissed the knights.

Lash was in his dorm getting changed into his armor, so far he placed the pants, with the tasset, boots and greaves on, and had his black singlet on, just as the commandant, Queen Emilia and Princess Luna walked in, "Uh... What can I do for you guys?" Lash asked when he noticed the three, "We've come to give you and the other four something on our behalf!" Queen Emilia replied, Queen Emilia had her daughters dark orange hair, light blue eyes.

"What is it?" Lash asked, "Well for the last few months the castle blacksmith has been working on unique weapons for you four!" Jared said handing Lash a sword wrapped in bandages, Lash unwrapped the bandages to reveal a uniquely designed sword with a dark purple blade with a dark red eye looking part in the middle of the blade, the sword had no hilt guard at the area where the blade and hilt connect curved in to look like spikes and near the tip of the sword curved out probably to grab enemy weapons.

"Thanks!" Lash thanked the three, "This sword has been enchanted with dragon enchantments and we've dubbed it; Savage Dragon!" Jared said, "Alright. But what about the others?" Lash asked, "By now, they should have received their weapons!" Jared replied, "Good luck Lash, and please stay alive!" Luna waved goodbye as she, Jared and Queen Emilia left his room.

Zade looked at his new weapon that the commandant and queen had given him, a dark grey and orange metal staff that was named Repear, while Nevau sat at his desk looking at the whale sword that he given called requiem, the two heard a knock at the door, "Come in!" Zade called out to whoever was at the door the door opened and Eleana, Alex, Vencen Patrick, Norman and Elizabeth walked into the office.

"Hey guys what's up?" Nevau asked, "We heard what was happening and came to help out!" Eleana said, "Well that's good to hear. And you must be Alex!" Nevau said with a smile and gave Alex a hand shake, "Indeed! You must be Nevau and Zade!" Alex replied, Lash then entered the office to see everyone and greeted Alex with a handshake the others also told Lash that they were also going to help fight the Undead and and left to meet Zyker, Lyra and Ruby while Lash, Nevau and Zade prepared themselves.

Zeke entered the dungeons and walked up to Cyber's cell with arms crossed, Cyber laid downed on the his bed, "What do you want?" Cyber asked not taking his eyes of the ceiling, "We're are going up against an army of Undead!" Zeke replied, "And you want me and my gang to help?" Cyber asked, "Yes!" Zeke replied, "And what's in it for us?" Cyber asked, "Your freedom!" Zeke replied, "And how do I know that you're not pulling my leg?" Cyber asked, Zeke pulled out a rolled up parchment and threw it at Cyber, Cyber unrolled the parchment and began to read it after he was finish reading it he sighed, "Very well... we'll help!" Cyber said begrudgingly.

Mystic stopped in front of her house, she had her new weapon that she received from Commandant Jared, the new weapon was like her old double bladed katana which was called Redemption and with a deep sigh opened up the fence gate and began to walk towards the front door before she reached the front door she was tackle hugged by her younger sister Melody, Melody had shoulder length dark purple hair, and hot pink eyes, she wore dark pink t-shirt underneath a dark blue singlet that had a bright red capital V on it and the word victory underneath the V, she also wore dark brown shorts and had a few bandages on he cheek and right knees and wore dark pink sneakers.

"Welcome home sis! Do you want to play soccer with me?" Melody asked, Mystic shook her head in response, "Melody can you get mom I need to speak with" Mystic said with a smile, "Okay" Melody said slightly disappointed and walked inside, moments later Mystic's mother walked out of the house and towards Mystic, "Hello dear" Menace greeted her daughter, "Mom can I speak to you?" Mystic asked, "Of course what is it?" Menace asked, Mystic explained how all the knights in the kingdom were going to fight an army of Undead that was making their way to Zelpius, Mystic body began to shake.

"I'm scared Mom! I've been holding it all in! But now I'm afraid that I'll die!" Mystic said her voice beginning to tremble and tears rolling down her cheeks, Menace hugged her daughter and spoke to her gently, "There! There! I know you're scared Mystic. But remember your friends will be there for you as well as Lash! I'm sure they make sure you'll be safe!" Menace said, Mystic tightly hugged her mother until the sun began to set.

Menace wiped away her daughter's tears, "I's okay to cry sometimes! I'm sure your friends are uneasy and are wondering if they'll make it out this fight alive! But as long as you have the one you love in your heart then you'll be fine! The same went for me and your father!" Menace said to her daughter, "Thank you mom!" Mystic replied with shaky smile, Mystic waved goodbye to her Mother and Sister and went back to the Lion brigade's office, Menace watched her daughter ran back to the office with confident smile on her face, 'You'll be fine dear! After all you're an Elysium!' Menace whispered with a heart warming smile.

As the sun began to set everyone had gathered at the gates, all the knights prepared their weapons and made sure that their armor was on correctly, Eleana, Alex, Vencen, Patrick, Lyra, Zyker, Ruby, Norman, Elizabeth, Shade, Slake and the Lightning Fox gang had got all their equipment ready for the fight and once everyone was finish preparing they left the kingdom and headed towards Lionshrine Village.

Once they arrived, the knights patrolled around the village to make sure that everyone had been evacuated, once the knights had confirmed that all the villagers had been evacuated, everyone headed towards the northwest entrance and set up the cannons and ballista ready for when the Undead Army arrived.

The knights along with the Lightning Fox gang, the group and the two bounty hunters stood in the field northwest field which led to Lionshrine Village as they saw the approach of the Undead Army, Commandant Jared prepared his weapon as the captains and their lieutenants of each brigades prepared their members and as the Undead army slowly marched closer, Nevau and Zade could see the undead villagers from Resaka village.

"They're getting closer!" Cyber said with an uneasy tone of voice, "Can we really do this?" Ruby asked, "Commandant I may have an Idea for a plan of attack!" Zade said as he walked up besides Jared, "What is it?" Jared asked, "Just trust me on this idea okay!" Zade said with a smile, Zade then turned and walked up to Lash, "What's this idea of yours?" Lash asked.

"Hey Lash is that Zack over there?" Zade asked while pointing at the Undead army, suddenly in fit of rage Lash ran towards the Undead army at full speed, "Zack! WHERE!? I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM!!!" Lash roared as he ran into the rows of Undead and began attacking in a berserker like rage, "Uhhhhh... That was your plan?" Jared asked as he and everyone else except for Zade, Nevau, Zyker, Lyra and Eleana stood slacked jaws as they watched Lash attacked the Undead, "Well... Are we going to help him?" Nevau asked, "Oh... right! CHARGE!!!" Jared yelled as he and the rest charged towards the Undead Army, Lash smashed each Undead's skull as they walked up to him and he was soon joined by everyone else.

Jared, Mayhem, Torin and Zade cut down Undead as they tried to search for the leader but with no luck and Jared let out a sigh, "Captain Mayhem! Captain Torin! And Captain Zade!" Jared said as he turned to the three captains, "Yes sir?" the three replied, "It's time to show these Corpses how strong we really are!" Jared ordered, the three captains nodded and began to unleash their powers to the the very limit, Mayhem took off his eyepatch which covered his left eye and opened up his left eye to reveal a pentagram on his left eyeball, his body then changed into a feral looking werewolf with dark purple fur and dark pink bat wings that had emerged from his shoulder blade.

Torin grew two feet tall, his skin color turned light blue and two more arms erupted from his ribs and Zade's hair spiked up and turn electric pink with his eyes turning black and his iris turning white, his skin became a deathly white as a black reaper robe covered his armor and skull shoulder pads and knee pads appeared, Zade's ears then became pointed and a monkeys tail sprouted from his tail bone and wrapped around his waist with his chaos claw released a dark violet mist.

And Commandant Jared skin turned a dark purple as two horn appeared on his head and two bat like wings appeared as well as third eye opening up on the center of his forehead, the four then charged towards the undead army with weapons raised.

Lash and Zyker stood back to back surrounded by Undead, "Looks like we're surrounded" Lash said with smirk on his face, "Looks that way! But these guys don't know who we are!" Zyker replied with a smile, "Yeah!" Lash replied as his body was surrounded by a black fire vortex when it faded revealed his dragon-human form, while Zyker's body was engulf in a giant iceberg which shattered showing his dragon-human form and the two ran towards the Undead.

Zyker froze some Undead and grabbed one of them and flew into the air and threw the Undead that he held back towards the ground, the Undead landed with a crashed in which caused its body to break into pieces, Lash ignited some Undead on fire smashed some of their skulls with his fists and feet and decapitated some with a quick moment of his tail he then grabbed one around the throat with his tail and spun around and threw it at Zyker who pulled out his rapier and cut the Undead soldier into pieces.

An Undead was about to strike Lash from behind but was set ablaze and then exploded, Lash quickly turned around to see Azi Dahaka standing behind where the Undead assassin once was, "Azi what are you doing here!?" Lash asked, "I came to help! After all it wouldn't be fun to see the host of my master die here against these walking corpses!" Azi replied, "Alright then welcome aboard!" Zyker grinned and the three the charged in different direction towards the Undead.

Zeke was surrounded by Undead but he blocked attacks from each one of them with his shield and cut off their head with his sword, and crushed the heads with his foot, Zeke was soon approached by a large hulking undead with rotting flesh on parts of its body, the hulking undead carried a large mace in its hands and it slowly walked towards Zeke and swung its mace.

Zeke blocked the mace with his shield, but when the mace collided with his shield Zeke felt the bones in his left forearm disconnect and break, Zeke yelled out in pain and retaliated by cutting off the hulking undead's head and crushed it underneath his foot, Zeke breathe heavily it pain as he put away his sword and tried to reconnect the bones in his left forearm, he then saw the others beginning to pull back towards Lionshrine and ran to join them.

Nevau, Patrick and Zero defeated every undead that approached them, Nevau was in his ogre form, Patrick was in his half-giant form and Zero was in his tiger form but eventually the amount of undead was beginning to push them back with every number of the knights that fought alongside them that had fallen in battle increased the number of the Undead army, the three pushed back some of the undead and heard the sound of someone yelling pull back, the three nodded and headed back to the village.

Eleana, Lyra and Mystic, began to pull back even after killing fifty Undead but unfortunately the numbers of the Undead army continued to grow, as the three ran Eleana noticed an Undead behind Mystic, the Undead had its sword raised in the air ready to strike Mystic down, "Mystic! LOOK OUT!!!" Eleana yelled as she pushed Mystic out of the way, Eleana couldn't move fast enough and the blade of the Undead's sword slashed out her left eye.

"ELEANA!!!" Mystic yelled in shock and suddenly an arrow shot through the air and landed in center of the Undead's forehead and exploded, Mystic not caring who shot the arrow ran up and picked Eleana's unconscious body and along with Lyra ran past Violet who then began to run behind them.

"Hang in there Eleana!" Mystic whispered to Eleana, "Why'd you help us?" Lyra asked Violet, "I'm not going to let a cutie like her *Points to Eleana* die and also this situation seems way to big even for you lot!" Violet replied, "Well anyway... Thanks!" Lyra said, "Don't mention it!" Violet replied with a smile, and the three eventually caught up with the others.

"Eleana!?" Vencen, Zyker and Lash yelled in shock, "She need to get to a healer!" Mystic said, "We have one this way!" Alice said as she lead Mystic towards Elizabeth, "Shit! This bad!" Shade said as he watched the people who were firing the cannons and bastillas in hopes o push the Undead army back.

The Lightning Fox gang struck down every Undead that approached them and not hearing Commandant Jared order of retreat as they had rushed on ahead, "Heh! Now this is what I call fun!" Cyber yelled in excitement as he and his gang killed undead after undead, "Hey boss do you think we-" Borcus was cut off as a sceptre was impaled through his heart and collapsed onto the ground dead, "Borcus!!!" Torba yelled as the three looked towards the man that killed Borcus.

The man was as tall as a door, and had a slight muscular build, he had smooth black hair and grayish white eyes, the man had a stern looking face and wore a black slime green mage rope and wielded a sceptre that a crystallized spider on it, "Greetings you must be the Lightning Fox gang!" The man said with a polite tone as he resurrected Borcus' body.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Torba yelled as she ran towards the man, "Torba! STOP!!!" Cyber yelled to Torba, but she didn't listen as she killed the Undead Borcus and tried to crush the man's head but the man with one simple movement sliced Torba in half, "My... What a feisty Lady!" the man said with tone of voice sounded like he was about to laugh, "Boss what do we do? Linda asked, "For now let's retreat! We can't beat this guy! Not without the others!" Cyber replied.

Linda nodded and the two began to run back towards Lionshrine, "Tut! Tut! Tut! I don't think so!" the man said ah he threw a slimy green skull shape fireball towards Cyber, Linda saw this and pushed Cyber out of the way, and the when the fireball hit her back a massive hole was blown into her chest, "LINDA!!!!" Cyber yelled as he watch Linda collapse to the ground, "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Cyber roared in anger as the sky began to darken and thunderclouds began to flash lightning, Cyber's body was engulfed in a fierce electrical current that barley made him look human.

"Oh my! I've never seen anything like this before!" the man said with excitement in his voice, Cyber then charged to the man and began to throw a fury of punches but the man dodged each punched and with one single punch knocked the air out of Cyber lungs and reverted him back to normal, Cyber collapsed onto the ground gasping for air and with fear in his eyes as the man smiled as he looked on Cyber and raised his sceptre into the air ready to plunge it down on Cyber's heart, but suddenly a light blue crystal landed on Cyber chest and began to teleport him away, Cyber turned his head to see who threw the crystal at him and Linda with tear rolling down her face mouthing the words goodbye as Cyber was teleported back to Lionshrine village.

The man looked towards Lionshrine village and saw his army of Undead beginning to push back the army of Zelpius, he smile a toothy grin as he crushed Linda's head with one stomp, "I guess soon I'll find that dragon and his host!" the man said as he slowly made his way to Lionshrine, "Are you ready to meet them again?' the man asked a hooded man who was following him, "Of course!" the hooded man replied with an evil grin.


	47. The tide of battle and an unexpected surprise!

Wave after wave of undead tried to storm into Lion Village but was slightly pushed back those who were arming the cannon and bastillas, while everyone that was still alive was resting in the mayor's house, Elizabeth walked down the stairs, "How are they?" Norman asked Elizabeth, they'll be fine. Cyber isn't that hurt aside from a few of his ribs being broken. Zeke will be fine but his left forearm is broken up to the elbow and Eleana won't be able to use her left eye from now on! But Patrick and Vencen are doing their best to help" Elizabeth explained.

"If only she hadn't pushed my out of the way this wouldn't of happened to her!" Mystic said with bitterness towards herself, Lash walked up to and placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "Hey! She'll be alright. She is my sister after all" Lash said with a reassuring smile, Mystic smiled weakly as she looked up at Lash.

Dammit! I didn't think it'll be this bad!" Mayhem growled in anger as he slammed his hand onto the table of the living room, the commandant and the three captains looked bleak as they tried to find a to stop the Undead army, Zade had also set up a force field around the village, but that would buy them little time before the Undead broke through and killed those who armed the cannons and bastillas and march towards Zelpius, "Indeed! We underestimated them for just being reanimated corpses!" Torrin nodded his head in agreement.

Alex was on his laptop typing for a possible weakness, during the battle Alex had gathered some samples to use in case for a worse case scenario, "Hey! Any luck?" Alice asked as she approached Alex with Norman and Slake, "No results yet! Well aside from the obvious that they were reanimated with the use of Necromancy!" Alex replied not taking his eyes off his laptop, "But how is that possible! Necromancy hasn't been around since the Shadow War!" Slake said crossing his arms, "Beats me!" Alex replied, "Well we'll leave to your research!" Norman said and the three left.

Shade and Nevau were running around the village giving the Knights who were arming the cannons and bastillas food, drinks and ammo, "Man this is hard work!" Shade groaned as he sat down panting, "Yeah! Well we have to make sure these guys don't get exhausted and run out of ammo" Nevau said sitting down as well, [Looks like you have fun!] Garinix said in a sarcastic tone, 'Not now Garinix!' Nevau replied, after awhile the two stood up and continued their job.

Patrick and Vencen were treating Eleana, Zeke and Cyber, while Zyker and Violet tried their best to keep Zeke in bed, Eleana was sound asleep, and Cyber just stared at the ceiling with cold eyes, his mind drifted back to his meeting with the man, his gangs death and his quick defeat at the hands of the man and Linda with her last strength and breathe saving his life, Cyber clenched his fists tightly, he felt the urge to scream but he didn't open his mouth nor make a sound.

Cyber grunted as he sat up on his bed and stood up ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs and headed towards the door but was stopped by Violet who was now standing at the doorway, "What do you want!" Cyber spat, "What are you doing?" Violet asked, "What do you think! I'm going to find that man and kick his ass!" Cyber replied with anger in his voice, "Do that and you'll die!" Violet replied annoyed, "So what! That bastard deserves to die for killing my gang! For killing my friends!" Cyber growled.

"Funny! You didn't hesitate to kick me out of the gang for one screw up and sacrifice Colbalt and Drix to test Lash's strength for the first before you two first fought!" Violet said, "First you nearly endangered our lives and those two had it coming!" Cyber replied angry, "Now out of my way!" Cyber said as began to walk towards the doorway and towards the stairs, however Violet stopped him by whacking him in the back of the head and knocking him out, "Sorry Cyber! But I can't let you do this out of grief!" Violet said and picked him up and placed him back on his bed.

Commandant Jared let out a sigh, "Zade. How long until force field collapses?" Jared asked, "Two minutes left at least" Zade replied, "Very well! Mayhem and Torrin!" Jared said as he turned his attention to the two captains, "Yes sir?" they replied, "I want you two to take the injured back to Zelpius!" Jared told them.

"Yes sir!" Mayhem and Torrin replied, "And Mayhem!" Jared said to Mayhem, "Yes sir?" Mayhem replied, "From hence forth I promote you to Commandant!" Jared said with a smile, "Ah! Why sir?" Mayhem asked, "Because I can trust you too lead the knights of Zelpius when I'm gone!" Jared said, Mayhem and Torrin saluted and went to gather some people and get the injured back to Zelpius.

Mayhem and Torrin left Lionshrine village with Alex, Norman, Zero, Elizabeth, Alice, Ruby, Shade and Slake, and some knights taking the injured back to Zelpius as Jared and Zade watched them leave Lionshirne until they were black specs in the distance, "Zade!" Jared said to Zade, "Yes sir?" Zade replied, "I want you and the others to prepare for battle and I also want you too lower the force field!" Jared said.

"Why?" Zade asked, "While you and the others are preparing I will face the Undead on my own!" Jared replied with a stern look, "Sir! That's crazy!" Zade replied, "This isn't a request Zade! It's an order as my last act as Commandant of Zelpius!" Jared said, "Tch...! Y-yes sir!" Zade said with hesitation in his voice as he lowered the force field, "Thank you! Now go and prepare!" Jared said with a smile, Zade saluted and headed inside to tell the others to prepare, Jared sighed as he pulled out his weapon and headed in the direction towards the Undead army.

Jared walked slowly towards the Undead army with his weapon drawn and with a stoic expression on his face, the Undead army slowly marched towards Jared and soon Jared's slow walking turned in fast running as he charged towards the Undead army head on.

Jared attack Undead left and right as they began to surround him, however Jared was already exhausted during his fight with the Undead before retreating, but despite he still continued to fight even when he was attacked from behind and to the side, but he still continued to fight the undead even when his vision became blurry and he barley keep his balance.

Soon Jared heard three voices calling his names as they got closer, the voices belonged to Zade, Nevau and Lash and Jared smiled as he closed his eyes, his time was over but he knew he could trust the tide of battle to those three, with a weak smile as all he needed to have was faith in those three as they have defied his expectations in the past...

Jared dropped his weapon just as a hand pierced through his chest and ripped out his heart, Zade, Nevau and Lash yelled Jared's name as they saw the hand rip out his heart and crushed it, Jared's lifeless body dropped to the ground as the three's eyes widen in shock and horror.

"What's the matter you three?" a familiar voice said to them, "N-no way...!" Nevau said shocked, "H-how!?" Lash asked as his skin turned paler, "W-what!?" Zade responded with confusion, "It almost looks like you've seen a ghost!" Mortem said with an evil grin on his face as he removed his hood and crushed Jared's head.

To be continued.


	48. Resurrected Mortem

The afternoon sun shined brightly in the sky as the three stood shocked as they stared at Mortem who was supposed to be dead was looking pretty much alive with his smug evil grin on his face, "My! It really does look like you three have seen a ghost!" Mortem mocked, "H-how are you alive!?" Nevau asked, "Well an old acquaintance of mine brought me back to life!" Mortem replied with a smile on his face while crossing his arms and with a snap of his fingers; the undead army went in different directions in the village, "What are you doing here?" Zade asked and Mortem took of his cloak and clicked his neck and answered Zade''s question by high kicking Lash's neck and sending him into a nearby building.

Mystic and Violet ran through the village after splitting up with the others, "So what are we doing?" Violet asked, "We're going to try and take out the Undead army in separate groups!" Mystic replied, "Oh, okay!" Violet said, the two then saw their targets heading in their direction, "Speak of the devil!" Violet said with a smile as she pulled out her bow and fired an arrow into one of the Undead's skull.

The arrow exploded on contact taking out some of the Undead, "What is it with your arrows exploding when they make contact with an enemy?" Mystic asked puling out Redemption, "I just enjoy watching my opponents explode into a fiery ball that takes some of their allies!" Violet replied with a calm smile on her face, Mystic shook her head and threw a telekinetic bomb at some of the Undead.

Patrick and Vencen ran through the west side of Lionshrine going through with their plan of separating the Undead army and taking them out in hopes to decrease their numbers, Patrick who was not wearing his trench coat pulled out his war-hammer and smashed an Undead's skull with it, Vencen sliced some Undead in half with his sword while two Dark Golems kept some Undead occupied while Vencen and Patrick took out the weakest ones first.

"GIGANTIC HAMMER!!!" Patrick yelled as he slammed his fists onto the ground which sent a dark purple shockwave that created pillars of spikes made out of cobblestone and earth that pierced about twenty five Undead, a dark green aura surrounded Vencen's sword and as it intensified the aura blew away Vencen's right sleeve, "DARK STRIKE!!!" Vencen yelled throwing his sword and as his sword flew through the air it split into shards of spikes that pierced through thirty Undead and reformed, Vencen picked his sword up and he and Patrick took a look around, "Looks like we're clear here!" Patrick said, Vencen nodded and the two ran further down the village.

Zyker and Lyra were surrounded by the Undead but they didn't waver, "Looks like there are less of them now!" Lyra said as she observed the number of Undead that surround them, "That's good!" Zyker who was in his dragon-human said with a smile, "Well its time I show my beast form!" Lyra said as two black and white cat ears appeared on her head and two cat tails popped out of her tail bone.

"I'm shocked that your beast form is a Nekomata!" Zyker said as he looked at Lyra, "I think the only one who hasn't shown us their beast form is Eleana!" Lyra replied, "Yeah I wonder what that looks like?" Zyker asked as the two began to attack the Undead that surrounded them, Zyker froze and shattered the undead, while Lyra using the agility of her beast form and commanded water which burst from the ground to attack the undead and very soon the undead laid on the ground in pieces, Lyra clicked her necks and the two headed towards Lash, Zade and Nevau's direction.

Azi Dahaka flew over the village watching the events below him, "Hmm! I don't understand why Lord Nephilix has not awaken within Lash yet? And why are Nevau and Zade are not using Chaorix and Garinix's powers?" Azi asked himself as he observed Lash, Zade and Nevau's fight with Mortem, Azi's eyes then shifted to a lone girl running in Mystic's direction with a teal cat, "Is that Eleana!? What is she doing here!?" Azi asked shocked and then flew towards the girl.

Azi landed in front of Eleana stopping her in her tracks, "Eleana what are you doing here? I thought Mayhem and the others took you along with the others who were injured back to Zelpius?" Azi asked, Eleana's left eye was bandaged up and she took deep breathe and exhaled, "I need to give Mystic something!" Eleana told Azi, "And what's that?" Azi asked, Eleana held out her right hand which had the light claw and a saw spoken voice began to speak.

"Hello Azi Dahaka!" The voice said from Eleana's mouth, "Lephix?" Azi asked, "I need Eleana to get to the one called Mystic for she is my real host. And she has the other half of my power!" Lephix told Azi, "How'd you half of your power end up in Eleana?" Azi asked, "That I do not know. But I need to get to Mystic!" Lephix said, Azi nodded his heads and Eleana returned to normal and almost collapsed to the ground but Azi caught her and lifted her back onto her feet.

"Alright then let's go!" Azi said but before the three could move, the Undead blocked their path, Eleana pulled out her twin sickles, Zero turned into his tiger form and pulled out his knife and Azi clicked his necks before pulling out two crossbows.

Mystic and Violet panted in exhaustion after they had finished killing all the undead that had appeared in front of them, "Man that was tough!" Violet sighed, Mystic took off her chest plate which had been badly damaged during the fight, Violet noticed that Mystic wasn't wearing a bra underneath her dark blue tank top and before the two could walked forward they heard Eleana's voice and turned around to see Eleana in her beast form along with Azi and Zero running up to the two.

Mystic hugged Eleana, "I'm glad that you're okay! But what are you doing here!" Mystic said to Eleana as she changed back into her human form and closed her eyes and when she open them they were a teal color, "Greetings Mystic. My name is Lephix the Dragon of Light!" Lephix said as she greeted Mystic, "Well that's something you don't see everyday!" Violet commented on what she was seeing, "Why are you in Eleana?" Mystic asked, "That I do not know. But I'm here to transfer the remaining power that's inside Eleana into you. For you are my host!" Lephix told Mystic, "I'm... your host?" Mystic asked, "Yes! Just as Nevau is Garinix's host, Zade is Chaorix's host and Lash is Nephilix's host!" Lephix explained, "What will happen to Eleana when you transfer your remaining power to me?" Mystic asked, "Nothing bad. She'll just fall unconscious" Lephix replied, Mystic took a deep breathe and exhaled.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Mystic said with a determined face, Lephix smiled and gripped Mystic's right wrist with the light claw, a white light enveloped Mystic body, and Mystic felt Lephix remaining power being transferred into her body, the light claw then moved from Eleana's forearm to Mystic's forearm and Eleana passed out, Mystic managed to catch Eleana before she hit the ground.

"Is she going to be okay?" Violet asked, "Yeah" Mystic replied as she held Eleana in both arms and very soon Zyker, Lyra, Vencen and Patrick arrived and when they saw Eleana, they asked what had happened, Mystic explained what happened, "I'm going to help Lash and the others! Violet and Azi you come with me. Vencen and Lyra you take care of Eleana! Patrick, Zyker and Zero you take out the remaining Undead!" Mystic ordered as she passed Eleana over to Vencen, the others nodded and Mystic, Violet and Azi headed in Lash, Zade and Nevau's direction.

Lash, Zade and Nevau as well as Mortem panted heavily, Lash was using Savage Dragon to support himself, his chest-plate had been shattered in the fight, Zade clutched his scythe tightly, while Nevau ran towards Mortem and thrusted his Halberd, Mortem deflected the attack and attempted to kick Nevau in the back, but Nevau dodged it by doing a back-flip, "I must admit you three have definitely gotten stronger since our last fight!" Mortem smiled, Zade slammed his hand onto the ground and summoned a spectral hand to grab Mortem tightly, but Mortem easily broke out of it and fired a black orb at Zade.

Lash blocked the attack for Zade and spewed a wave of black fire towards Mortem created a wall to block the attack but Nevau used the wall to his advantage and created a stone fist to punch Mortem, Mortem stumbled backwards after being hit by the stone fist but regained his footing and he created a bigger version of his black orb and threw it, Lash created his black flame nova and threw it towards the giant black orb.

The two attacks collided and exploded creating a black smoke which Zade took advantage of and uppercut Mortem into the air in which Lash tried to drop kick him, but Mortem recovered and grabbed Lash leg smacking him into Nevau who tried to attack Mortem from behind, Zade dashed up to Mortem and the two exchanged blows to each others, Mortem then grabbed Zade's forearms and headbutted him in the nose and tripped him over.

Lash appeared behind Mortem and spin kicked him in the back of the neck and used hellbreaker to send Mortem flying into a pole, Mortem got back and began to chuckle, "What's so funny?" Nevau asked, "What's funny is, now I'm going to transform into my golem form and wipe you three out for good is what's funny. And I doubt any of you have the energy to transform into your ultimate forms and try to stop me is what's funny!" Mortem replied as he began laughing manically, "So you were wearing us down! So that you could have the opportunity to transforms!" Zade said, Mortem only reply was his smug smile and his body began to glow a light purple, "I think that's enough out of you Mortem!" a voice said and as Mortem and the three turned to look who said that, they heard a sound of fingers clicking.

Mortem suddenly started screaming in pain as the three watched Mortem's skin began to quickly liquefy into bone, and even the bone began to liquefy, Mortem turn to glare at the man who was now smiling at Mortem with his only eyeball, Zade and Nevau watched shocked as they Mortem liquefying while Lash felt the urge to puke, Mortem was now a melting skeleton with a few chunks of flesh still attached to his body as he glared at the man and began to yell.

"MORTIS YOU BASTARD!!! WHAT YOU DOING!!!???" Mortem yelled at the man, "You've severed your purpose well, Mortem my old friend. But now I have no need of you so you can return back to the cold grasp of death!" Mortis smiled as he snapped his one more time and Mortem liquefaction increased until Mortem was nothing left but a slimy green puddle of goop that bubbled a few times before going still, Mortis then turned his attention towards the three as he smiled coldly.


	49. The Necromancer; Mortis

Zade and Nevau stood shocked shocked while Lash vomited in the corner after watching Mortem's liquefaction at the hands of Mortis, "What did you do to him!?" Nevau yelled at Mortis, "Weren't you listening? I said he fulfilled his purposed and that I have no more need for him" Mortis replied, "So you must be the Necromancer who's leading this Undead army!" Zade said trying remain calm, "Of course" Mortis replied, "Alright I think I'm fine now!" Lash said weakly as he approached Zade and Nevau.

"You three impress me! How would like to join me as my Undead army's generals?" Mortis asked holding out a hand, "No thanks! I was already a servant to one bad guy!" Nevau decline, "No!" was all Zade said and shook his head in response, "Hmm. Very well. But I'm sure you are curious on how I know a lost form of magic such as Necromancy?" Mortis asked, "Yeah! That would be nice!" Nevau replied, "Very well. Me and Mortem used to be roommates when we attended the Mage's college in Metracita!" Mortis said, "Well that explains how you two knew each other!" Nevau said, "Indeed. Anyway... One morning we found two books address to us, we had no idea who sent them, but a book about the Golems was for Mortem, while a book about Necromancy was for me. And you can guess what happened after we received these books!" Mortis said, "You became obsessive with these book and got kicked out of the Mage's college for your obsession?" Zade replied and Mortis nodded his head.

"Well then how about we cut the chat! We need to stop you!" Nevau said changing into his Terra form, Lash turned into his Flame form and Zade changed into his Spirit form, "Try as you might. I defeated someone who transformed much like you three very easily!" Mortis said with confidence, Nevau stomped on the ground to create a pillar of earth that sent Mortis into the air and then created two stone fists to hit him, Lash created two black flame novas and threw them at Mortis and Zade sent spectral skull hurling towards Mortis and when the attack collided, they exploded forming a black smoke cloud in the sky.

The three pulled out one vial of blue liquid and drank it, they felt their energy return, "Not bad!" Mortis said as he landed on the ground on both feet, he barley had scratch on him, "Tch!" Lash spat, Zade then fired his nail gun, but Mortis lept to the side to avoid, "Huh..." Zade responded.

As Mystic, Violet and Azi ran they were suddenly surrounded by Undead, "There's less Undead here than there before!" Violet said, "That's a good thing then!" Mystic replied, the three then began to attack the remaining Undead, Mystic threw some telekinetic bombs, Violet fired some explosive and Azi fired his crossbows.

Lash was thrown into a wall and reverted back to his normal, Zade went back first into a pole and reverted back into his normal form and Nevau went through a window and reverted back to his normal form, "Ow!" Lash groaned in pain as he lifted himself up, "This guy is stronger than we thought!" Nevau said as he exit the house he was in through the front door, the three were back on their feet and looked towards Mortis, who dusting himself off.

Lash created a black flame nova and threw it, while Zade made a spectral hand burst out of the ground to grab Mortis, but Mortis lept into the air to avoid the spectral grasp and kicked the black flame nova towards Nevau who pulled a miniature white flag and began waving it just as the black flame nova hit him, "Nevau are you okay!?" Lash asked Nevau, "Yeah! I'm *Cough* Fine!" Nevau replied coughing out smoke and covered in soot, Nevau shook the soot off him and launched a terra snake towards Mortis, but Mortis redirected the attack back towards Nevau, "Not again..." Nevau whimpered just as his attack hit him.

"Wow... Karma must really hate him!" Zade said with Lash nodding in agreement, "Oh... shut ... up Zade!" Nevau weakly growled as lifted himself back up to his feet, "Alright... Lash, do you think you can land a Hellbreaker on him?" Zade asked, "If I can get into the air! I might be able too!" Lash replied, "Alright I'll give you a boost!" Nevau smiled as he slammed a hand onto the ground and sent a Terra Snake hurling towards Mortis with Lash riding on top of it, he then lept into the air as the terra snake got close to Mortis.

Mortis sighed and reflected the snake back at Nevau, but he quickly notice that Lash was missing and looked around but no sign, he then finally looked up to see Lash was just above him charging up the Hellbreaker, Lash began to fall towards Mortis with his right arm ready to punch Mortis with the Hellbreaker, Mortis just barley avoided being hit by the attack, when Lash's fist collided the ground it create a large crater in the ground, "Damn! I missed!" Lash grunted as he step out of the crater.

"I think I hear fighting over there!" Violet said as she pointed in the direction of where the sound was coming from, the three had defeated the Undead that had surrounded them, "I believe that's where Lash, Zade and Nevau are! And I believe they are fighting the leader of this Undead army!" Azi said crossing his arms, "How do know that?" Violet said, "Evil Dragon intuition!" Azi replied, "Fair enough!" Violet replied, "I'm going to help them! Maybe with Lephix's power I can help them defeat this Necromancer!" Mystic said looking at the light claw.

"It is possible! But for some reason Zade and Nevau aren't using Chaorix and Garinix!" Azi replied, "Maybe they can't!" Violet said, "Anyway go on ahead Mystic! Me and Azi will stay here in case some Undead show up!" Violet told Mystic, Mystic nodded and headed in the direction where the fighting is, "Great! Now I'm stuck with you!" Azi grunted in annoyance, "Hey! What did I ever do to you!?" Violet yelled at Azi.

Lash dropped to his knees, he felt weak and could no longer fight back he looked at Zade and Nevau and saw that they too could no longer fight back, Mortis curved his back until there was a clicking sound, "You three are very strong! But I have been using my Necromancy to power myself up for fifteen years" Mortis boasted as Lash stood up and fired a fire ball towards Mortis, but Mortis now wielding his scepter swatted it away.

"I'm impressed. The last four I fought, three of them died and the other got away with broken ribs!" Mortis said, "Why are you fighting us! It feels like your holding back!" Lash panted, "So you noticed. I'll tell you then, I know that you three are hosts to the three of the Dragons of Power! But I'm not interested in fighting Garinix, Chaorix or even Lephix! No, I'm only interest in fighting Nephilix the one who started the Dragon war 15,000 years ago!" Mortis explained.

"Is that way you created the Undead army? So you could fight Nephilix?" Lash asked, "No! I created the Undead Army to take over Soncosa and after that I'll over the other countries and archipelagos of Acadia!" Mortis replied, "Oh okay then! But news flash! Nephilix is still asleep inside me and I doubt you'll be enough too wake him up!" Lash said, "Oh trust me! I'll find a way!" Mortis grinned.

Lash, Zade and Nevau were then thrown into separate walls, "I know that Lephix, Garinix and Chaorix are awake inside their hosts. But how will I awaken the Darkness Dragon within you?" Mortis said as he rubbed his chin while looking at Lash, suddenly the four heard the sound of someone running and a telekinetic bomb was thrown towards Mortis, the bomb exploded and sent Mortis hurling backwards and Mystic ran up to Lash and lifted him up to his feet as Zade and Nevau got themselves back up, "Are you three okay?" she asked the three.

"Slightly" Zade replied, "Had three attacks hit me and it wasn't by Mortis! two were mine and one of them was Lash's" Nevau replied, "I'm alright!" Lash replied as he stood up, "But thanks for coming Mystic!" Lash said with a smile and Mystic smile back, "No problem!" Mystic replied, Mortis returned after being hit with the telekinetic bomb and notice Lash and Mystic smiling at each other.

"I think I found a way to bring out Nephilix!" Mortis said with an evil smile, "Heads up guys he's back!" Nevau said noticing Mortis, Mortis began to run towards the four, Nevau tried to attack Mortis with his Halberd but Mortis smacked him to the side, Zade tried to use spectral grasp to stop Mortis but Mortis dodged it and headbutted Zade, Lash tried attack Mortis with a blaze kick but Mortis grabbed his leg and threw him onto the ground with enough to make him cough blood and Mystic tried to attack Mortis with Redemption but Mortis just grabbed her by the throat and took a few steps back away from Lash.

"Lash!" Mortis said to Lash, Lash lifted his head in response, "Before you asked me; how was I going to awaken Nephilix! I believe I found a way! So sit back and enjoy the show!" Mortis said as he conjured skeletal to keep Lash, Zade and Nevau pinned to the ground, the three tried to break free from the grasp of skeletal hands but to no avail.

Mortis then threw Mystic onto the ground and dug the sharp end of his scepter into Mystic right shoulder, he then stabbed her right knee and right ankle all the while Lash was telling Mortis to stop it, Mortis then stabbed Mystic's right side and began to twist the scepter while Mystic screamed in pain, Lash yelled at Mortem to stop one last time before he felt a strong pulse of energy surge through his body.

Inside Lash's subconscious; two pitch black eyelids began to slowly open revealing two emerald green iris with constricted pupils that could pierce through someone's soul, and a loud roar began to echo through Lash's subconscious and into his consciousness.

And inside Nevau, Mystic and Zade's subconscious Garinix, Lephix and Chaorix felt Nephilix's presence as well as the presence of the Hour of Twilight, "It is time!" The three said and began powering up, "It is now time to lend them our power!" they said.

Lash's body was enveloped in a black mist which dissolved the skeletal hands on contact along with Zade and Nevau who's body were being enveloped by a dark violet and bronze mist that also dissolved the skeletal hands that were pinning them down.

Mortis notice this and before he could react he was force back by a powerful telekinetic shockwave that was released by Mystic which forced him back, Lash quickly got up and ran to Mystic who's body was being envelop in a brilliant white mist, Zade and Nevau also ran up to them, "What's happening to us?" Nevau asked, "I have no idea... could this be the Dragon's doing?" Zade replied, "So that means Nephilix is awake within Lash now" Nevau said and the three notice Mystic wound beginning to heal as she open her eyes, Lash sighed in relief and hugged her tightly which took Mystic by surprise but hugged back.

Lash helped Mystic up and the four looked towards Mortis who was looking at the four dumbfounded, "Alright Mortis let's end this!" Nevau said, but before the four could act four voices suddenly spoke out from their respected claw, [The Hour of Twilight is here!] the voices said as the four's right hand shot up to the sky and four pillars of different colored lights; one emerald green, one brilliant white, one dark violet and one bronze shot up onto the sky and the sky turned pitch black with dark purple rips appearing in the pitch black sky, "So this is the Hour of Twilight!" Mortis said as an ear to ear grin appeared on his face.


	50. The Hour of Twilight!

Mayhem and everyone who was heading back to Zelpius notice the sky beginning to turn pitch black after seeing four pillars of light shoot up at the sky, "What's happening?" Ruby asked, "I-I'm not sure but I feel as if something bad has come!" Torin replied while Cyber narrowed his eyes, "Lash!" he said quietly.

Vencen and Lyra looked up at the sky, "What in the...?" Vencen said, "I have a bad feeling about this!" Lyra said as Eleana began to mumble, "Nephilix!" she weakly said and stirred in her sleep.

Patrick, Zyker and Zero looked up at the sky, Zero felt his hairs on his body point up, Patrick felt a sweat drop roll down his head, while Zyker felt a cold shiver run down his spine, "Oh... boy...!" they said.

Azi and Violet looked up at the sky, "What the hell is going on!?" Violet asked, "Master Nephilix has awoken and with the four dragons of power awakened the Hour of Twilight has come!" Azi replied, "Nephilix!?" Violet asked, Azi took a deep breathe and exhaled, "It seems that Nephilix has awoken inside of Lash! But how?" Azi asked Violet upon hearing what Azi said eyes widen in shock and horror, "I think I know how..." Violet said weakly.

Mortis looked up at the sky as his grin widened as the four looked at their arms, [Zade, can you hear me?] Chaorix asked, "Yeah" Zade replied, [Garinix to Nevau hello] Garinix said, "I hear you Gar" Nevau replied, [Mystic are you alright dear?] Lephix asked, "I'm fine and thank you for healing me" Mystic smiled, [Lash are you alive?] Nephilix asked, "Yeah and you must be Nephilix" Lash replied, "So the four Dragons are finally awake. Excellent now to test their power!" Mortis grinned as he impaled himself with his sceptre, the four notice this and watched as Mortis' sceptre merged with his body, suddenly the ground began to shake, "What's going on!?" Mystic asked.

With Mayhem with the others they noticed the corpse of those who died to their injuries bodies began shake violently as their souls were ripped out of their bodies and flew fast in the direction of Lionshrine, "What in the world...!" Torin said slacked jaw and worried for those still in Lionshrine.

Vencen and Lyra readied their weapons when they saw the destroyed remains of the Undead army shake violently as they saw the souls of the deceased shot out from the remains as towards where the others were, "This can't be good!" Vencen said, Lyra looked up at the sky and saw more soul flying in the same direction, "You might be right" Lyra replied.

Patrick, Zyker and Zero had no idea what was going on as Zero hissed at the soul that emerged from the remains of the Undead army and dead soldiers, while Patrick and Zyker looked up at the sky, "Could this be the leader of the Undead army's doing?" Zyker asked, "Possibly..." Patrick replied.

Violet looked around frantic as Azi looked up at the sky, "W-w-what's with all the ghosts?" Violet asked shaking with fear, "This must be that Necromancer's doing!" Azi replied, "W-what do you mean?" Violet asked, "I don't know. But unless those four think of something they might be in a far greater danger" Azi said as the two watched the souls of the deceased flying towards where Lash, Mystic, Nevau and Zade were fight Mortis.

"What's he doing!?" Nevau asked as the four watched the souls of the decease fly into Mortis, [He's absorbing the souls of those that have died in this battle. Making their power his own!] Nephilix answered, "so that's what he meant when he said that he has been using the power of Necromancy to power himself for years!" Zade said, "Then what do we do?" Mystic asked, once Mortis had finished absorbing all of the souls of the deceased, his eyes now glowed a murky green as he exhaled a murky green mist as he smiled.

[What are you four waiting four hurry up and use our powers!] Chaorix yelled at the four, "How!?" Lash asked, [Power yourselves up to you super forms we'll lend you our power!] Garinix replied, "But I don't have a super form" Mystic replied, [Just do it any way dear] Lephix told Mystic, the four looked at each other with worried expressions and nodded as they began to power up, Mortis watched the four power up with an excited smile on his face as the four's appearances began to change.

Lash's hair turned a snowy white as it spiked up and began to grow to his waist and his hair tie snapped and two locks of his hair overlap his shoulder all the way to his abdomen, his shirt ripped apart as his skin turned a pitch black as his face became slightly demonic with razor sharp teeth and he exhaled a black mist, his eyes turned an emerald green as well as his fingers turning into claws as well as a tail emerged from his tail bone, but he still wore his lower half of his armor remained.

Mystic's hair turned sky blue as it was tied up into two twin tails, two brilliant white angel wings sprouted from her back as her eye became a light teal color, her dark blue tanktop turned into a white and sky blue breast plate, he skin turned a light pale color as her pants turned into knee length shorts with her metal gauntlets and boots remaining the same, a white slender tail sprouted from her tail bone and wrapped itself around her waist.

Zade's hair turned an electric pink as it spiked up, his eyes also turned a light red as his skin turned dark violet, his armor turned into an armored vest as three eyes opened up on both of his shoulder's in a triangle shape, his reaper cloak wrapped itself around his waist along with a dark violet tail, his skull shoulder pads and knee pads appeared with his skull shoulder pads looked liked they merged with his skin.

Nevau's hair turned an electric purple as it spiked up and his eye turned lime green, his shirt ripped apart as his skin turned into a bronze color, he also grew to the size of his ogre form two bull horn sprouted out the sides of his forehead, his body became muscular and his arms became reptilian in appearance and a long tail sprouted from his tail bone.

Lyra who was carrying Eleana via piggyback, Vencen, Patrick, Zyker, Zero, Violet and Azi arrived at the area where the four were facing Mortis just in time to see the four finish transforming into their Dragon like beast forms, "What happened to them?" Zyker asked, "They've transformed into their beast forms of their respective dragons. We should stay back this is their fight" Azi told everyone and with hesitant nods in agreement.

"Whoa! What happened to us?" Nevau asked as he looked down at his body and then at the others, but before the others could reply; Mortis threw a large murky ball of energy towards the four, Lash appeared in front of them and created a large wall of black mist which faded after it absorbed the large ball of energy and the four charged towards Mortis.

Zade fired six large beams from the eyes of his shoulders, Mortis blocked the laser beams only to be attacked from the side by Nevau who dislocated the bones in Mortis' right arm with a single punch and sent him flying towards Lash who uppercut Mortis in the chin and up into the air before Mortis could even react, Mystic appeared above him and with her wing created a large gust of wind which knocked him back to the ground.

Zade ran up to Mortis and grabbed his ankles before he hit the ground and spun around before throwing Mortis towards Nevau who slammed Mortis hard into the ground, Nevau then picked Mortis up by the throat and threw him and then with the help of Mystic and Zade, held Mortis in place with the use of spirit magic, earth and telekinesis, "Lash end it now!" Mystic ordered and Lash ran up to Mortis, "HELLBREAKER!!!" Lash roared as he punched Mortis with enough force to blow off both Mortis' clothes and flesh and sent his skeletal reaming tumbling onto the ground.

But before everyone could sigh in relief, Mortis' skeletal remains shook violently before reassembling themselves back into a humanoid figure with his torn reattaching around his waist to form a robe, and two glowing orbs acting as eyes in his empty eye sockets "Why are you so shocked? You'd think I'd pass up the chance to turn myself into a Lich" Mortis said in raspy voice, "You're mad!" Nevau growled at Mortis, "Possibly. Now to end this!" Mortis replied as he flew high into the air.

"What are you doing!?" Mystic yelled at Mortem confused, "I'm going to kill you with a Kamikaze like attack with the impact radius being this whole village!" Mortis replied, "But that'll kill you as well!" Lash yelled back, "Actually, once I collided with the ground and kill you all. I will absorbed your souls and reattach my body and rebuild my Undead army with you four as my new generals" Mortis replied and began to flying directly towards the ground at a high speed.

he four looked at each other with concerned looks in their eyes right before an idea popped up simultaneously in their head and they nodded in agreement, Lash and Mystic created spears of light and darkness, while Zade created a spear made out of his spirit magic and Nevau created a spear made out of earth and the four waited for Mortis to reach a certain distance before throwing the spears simultaneously.

The four spears shot through the air and due to him flying at a high speed, Mortis was unable to dodge the spears and the four spears pierced through Mortis' body and caused the magical energy in his body as well as all the souls he absorbed to go haywire, "T-to think... i-it would e-end like this..." Mortis said weakly as the glowing orbs in his eyes sockets went out.

Mortis body convulsed violently in the air before exploding and releasing all the souls that he had absorbed, the four turned back to normal as the others approached them, the group heard the souls thank them for releasing them, and Lash, Mystic, Nevau and Zade could make out the voices that belonged to Linda, Torba, Borcus and the former commandant; Jared before disappearing.

Cyber and the others waited anxiously for the group to return, as he waited he felt Linda's arms wrapped around him causing him to quickly look behind him to see that no one was behind him, he placed his left hand on his right shoulder as hot tear ran down his cheeks, "Goodbye Linda" Cyber said quietly as he wiped away his tear.

Everyone looked up at the sky and saw it return to normal and in the horizon they saw Lash, Mystic, Nevau, Lyra who was giving Eleana a piggyback ride, Zyker, Zero, Vencen, Patrick, Violet, Azi and Zade walking towards them with exhausted smiles on their faces as they waved to them signaling that it was over they had won.

At Zelpius a week after the fight with the Undead army, "I see... So you three wish too resign from the knights" Mayhem the new Commandant of Zelpius said as he relay the information he had received from Lash, Zade and Nevau, "Yeah!" Nevau replied, "And may I ask why?" Mayhem asked, "We feel that we need to train in order to control the Dragon's powers, and how long it will take we don't know!" Zade explained, "Very well then! I suggest you three go to these separate Islands to train!" Mayhem said handing out three photos to Lash, Zade and Nevau, the three nodded and said their farewells to Mayhem as they left the Commandants office.

As they walked through the training grounds they noticed Zeke the new Captain of the Wolf brigade training the new recruits even though his left forearm was still in a cast.

He notice the three were in their casual clothes and not in their armor and walked up to them after instructing the recruits to continue training, "Hey you three what's up?" Zeke asked, Nevau explained to Zeke what was happening, Zeke closed his eyes for a minute and held his right hand with a smile on his face, "Well you three! It has been a pleasure working with you and I wish you luck" Zeke said, the three shook Zeke's hand left the training grounds. 

After learning about what the others were going to do now that the fight had finished and saying their farewells the three made it to the front gates, Nevau then turned to Lash, "Hey Lash!" Nevau said to Lash, "Hmm?" Lash replied, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Mystic?" Nevau asked, "Nah! If I did that it'll just make it hard to say it!" Lash replied, "That's kind of selfish of you man!" Nevau said disappointed in his friend, "Yeah I know!" Lash replied weakly, just as they were about to leave a voice stopped them the three turned around to Mystic, Zyker, Patrick and Alex heading towards them.

Mystic walked up to Lash, "Were you about to leave without saying goodbye!?" Mystic asked, Lash nodded his head slowly, "Why?" Mystic asked, "I don't know..." Lash replied scratching the back of his head, "I know you three are going to train to properly control the Dragon's power!" Mystic said to him and Lash nodded, "Yeah during my transformation into the dragon beast form. The power I felt during it, was the same power that I almost used to hurt Eleana back at Korma village" Lash said as he began to notice tears beginning to roll down Mystic's cheeks.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Lash asked, "Ever... since after our first fight. When I was the leader of the Crimson Wolf bandits! I started to fall in love with you!" Mystic told Lash, "Mystic..." Lash said quietly, "Wait! Mystic was the leader of the Crimson Wolf bandits?" Alex asked but was told to be quiet by Zyker.

"I love you Lash! I enjoyed our adventure together good times and bad!" Mystic said as she began to cry, Lash hugged her and rubbed her head, "I know... I love you too! And the other reason why I'm doing this. The other reason why I'm going away for a while is too train. So that when I come back. I won't be able to lose control of Nephilix's power or if the Leviagon went berserk and hurt you" Lash told her as he comforted her, "You better! You better come back to me!" Mystic said to him, "I promise!" Lash said as he kissed Mystic on the lips.

At the Soncosa docks, Lash, Zade, Nevau, Zyker, Patrick and Alex awaited their boat, Zyker, Patrick and Alex were going to tag along with the three as they trained on the separate Islands, Patrick was going with Lash, Zyker was going with Nevau and Alex was going with Zade, "Are you sure you're going to be okay Alex? There aren't any plugs at this Island!" Zade said to Alex, "Of course I am!" Alex replied, "Hey Lash!" Zyker said to Lash, "Hmm?" Lash replied, "Did you tell Mystic the truth about coming back to her after you finished training?" Zyker asked.

Lash looked up at the clear blue sky as he tightened his hair tie, his remained snowy white after his dragon beast transformation and he smiled, "Of course I did. This is one promise I intend to keep!" Lash replied with a smile as a large ship approached the docks ready to take the six to the three Islands. 

End.


End file.
